historical sketch of the rise, progress, and decline of the reformation in poland.pdf

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HISTORICAL SKETCH

OF THE

RISE, PROCESS, AND DECLINE

THE REFORMATION IN POLAND.

HISTORICAL SKETCHOP THE

RISE, PROGRESS, AND DECLINE

THE REFORMATION

POLAND,AND OF

THE INFLUENCE WHICH THE SCRIPTURAL DOCTRINES HAVEEXERCISED ON THAT COUNTRY IN LITERARY, MORAL,

AND POLITICAL RESPECTS.

BY

COUNT VALERIAN KRASINSKI.

IN TWO VOLUMES.

VOL. J.

LONDON:Printed for the AUTHOR, and sold by Messrs. MURRAY, Albemarle Street

;

RIDOWAY & SONS, 169, Piccadilly; J. HATCHARD & SON, 181, Pic

cadilly; JAMES NISBETT & Co., 21, Berners Street; HAMILTON &ADAM, 33, Paternoster Row; and WILCZEWSKI & Co., 116, JermynStreet.

1838.

LONDON:Printed by J. L. Cox and SONS, 75, Great Quee Street,

Lincoln s-Inn Fields.

TO THE

PROTESTANTS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE,

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

THIS WORK

IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY

A POLISH PROTESTANT.

PREFACE.

THE rapid progress and equally speedy decline of the

Reformation in Poland presents to the Protestant reader a

melancholy, but at the same time an instructive picture.

The Protestant cause attained in that country in the

course of half a century such a degree of strength, that its

final triumph over Romanism seemed to be quite certain.

Yet, notwithstanding this advantageous position, it was

overthrown and nearly destroyed in the course of an

other half century. This extraordinary reaction was not

effected by the strong hand of a legally constituted au

thority, as was the case in Italy, Spain, and some other

countries; but by a bigotted and unprincipled faction,

acting not with the assistance, but in opposition to the laws

of the country. Such an event is perhaps unparalleled in

the annals of the religious world, and is the more remark

able, as the free institutions of Poland, which had greatly

facilitated the progress of the Reformation, were afterwards

rendered subservient to the persecution of its disciples.

The Jesuits, who defended in that country the interests of

Rome, being unable to combat their antagonists with fire

and sword, adopted other measures, which inflicted on

Vlll PREFACE.

Poland more severe calamities than those which mighthave been produced by bloody conflicts between religious

parties. As the laws of the country did not allow anyinhabitant of Poland to be persecuted on account of his

religious opinions, they left no means untried in order

to evade those salutary laws; and the odious maxim that no

faith should be kept with heretics (hcereticis not est ser-

vanda Jides) was constantly advocated by them, as well

as by other champions of Romanism in our country. But

the most invariable and lamentably successful line of

policy pursued by the Jesuits in Poland, was to agitate the

lower classes, by means of the confessional and the pulpit,

and to insure, by their intrigues with the higher ranks of

society, an impunity to the excesses which an infuriated

mob committed at their instigation against the anti-Roma

nists. Thus, many Protestant churches and schools were

destroyed by riots excited by the Jesuits, and directed bythe pupils of their colleges ; whilst the proceedings in

stituted by the legal authorities, in order to punish those

excesses, were rendered nugatory by the influence of their

order, whose members publicly eulogized those acts of

violence committed in an open breach of the laws of the

country. The long reign (1587-1631) of the weak-minded

and bigotted king Sigismund the Third was particularly

favourable to the promotion of their schemes ; and that

infatuated monarch, who was entirely governed by their

advice, had no other object in view than the destruction of

all the opponents of Rome, and the establishment of an

undivided papal domination hi his states. He attained in a

great measure the object of his wishes, but at the sacrifice of

the most vital interests of the country. The Jesuits gained

during that reign a paramount influence over the affairs of

Poland, and although the pernicious effects of that influence

were counterbalanced for some time by the efforts of the

1 RE FACE. i x

Zamoyskis, the Chodkicwiczs, the Zolkiewskis, and other

eminent characters, who appeared in Poland during that

period, it finally produced the most fatal consequences to

that country. Such were the rebellion of the numerous

parties which followed the Eastern church, internal feuds,

foreign invasion, and the loss of many important provinces.

Yet these calamities, great as they were, may^be considered

as less disastrous than the moral effects produced by the

withering sway which the disciples of Loyola exercised for

more than a century over the national mind. They clearly

saw that the surest means of extirpating scriptural doctrines

was to fetter the national intellect, by means of a pre

posterous system of education ; and they consequentlyintroduced such a system into the public schools of Poland,

which were for a long time almost exclusively conducted bythem. This measure produced its natural consequences :

science and literature were almost annihilated ; and

Poland, which had made rapid strides in every kind of

improvement during the sixteenth century, instead of ad

vancing, retrograded with equal rapidity. It was at such a

price that Romanism was saved in Poland, and no countryin the world affords, perhaps, a more striking illustra

tion of the blessings which a political community derives

from the introduction of a scriptural religion, and of the

calamities which are entailed on a nation by its extinction ;

because the above-mentioned country rose in its welfare and

glory with the progress of the Reformation, and declined

in the same ratio as the scriptural doctrines gave way to the

Roman Catholic reaction. The effects which were produced in Poland by the abolition of the Jesuits are a

corroborating evidence of what we have advanced; because

as soon as that incubus which paralysed the energies of the

nation was removed (and great must be those energies, if

they could not be crushed by such a long oppression), and

X PREEACE.

a better system of education introduced into that country,

the national intellect advanced so rapidly, that during a

period of about twenty years subsequent to the abolition

of the Jesuits, the Polish literature produced, in spite of

the most unfavourable political circumstances, more valuable

works than it did during a whole century when public

education was entirely conducted by them.

This reanimation of the national intellect would have

exercised the most salutary influence on the religious state

of the country, had it not been counterbalanced by the

calamities to which Poland has been exposed in conse

quence of its dismemberment. This event, which should

have apparently led to the extinction, or at least to the

decrease of the national spirit, produced quite a contrary

effect, and created throughout all parts of ancient Poland

a strong feeling of nationality ; a feeling which could not

be quenched even by all the unsuccessful attempts made by

the Poles at recovering their political existence, and which

have hitherto ended in bitter disappointment and renewed

disasters. The best evidence of the energy of that feeling,

which seems to prosper by storm and acquire new vigour

from oppression, is the remarkable fact, that literature,

which is the truest expression of the national mind, rose in

Poland since its dismemberment, and notwithstanding the

most unfavourable circumstances, to a degree of eminence

which it had never before attained during the time of its

political existence. The violent excitement created by that

feeling, and which engrosses the national mind by one domi

nant idea the restoration of the national independence ex

cludes every other consideration which is not immediately con

nected with that all-absorbing subject; and therefore, as long

as Poland continues in her present condition, it is almost

impossible to expect that public opinion should be seriously

directed towards ecclesiastical affairs in that country,

PREFACE. Xl

although many individuals of the same country become

every day more impressed with the importance of that

subject. We do not, however, entertain any doubt that,

should once the political excitement which now universally

prevails in Poland be set at rest, by the attainment of the

great object which creates that excitement, the national

mind will turn with the same fervour as it did during the

sixteenth century towards religion, and accomplish the great

work of the Reformation, which was prevented at that time

by a concurrence of unfortunate circumstances. As Christians

and Poles, we humbly pray to God, and hope from his

mercy for the religious and political emancipation of our

country; and as Providence creates nothing in vain, we firmly

believe that it has not implanted in the hearts of the Polish

nation that strong feeling to which we have alluded, and

which has caused so much suffering to that nation, without

an adequate purpose. We therefore hope and trust that

the Almighty, after having prepared our nation by the severe

trials to which, in his inscrutable ways, he has submitted us,

will finally relieve it from its unfortunate condition, and

give to it the grace of becoming in his hands a useful

instrument for promoting the knowledge of the word of

God, which is the only true foundation of the present and

future happiness of mankind ; particularly amongst the

numerous populations of the Slavonian race, amongst

whom that knowledge had already been strongly ma

nifested, even before the Reformation of the sixteenth

century.

Although the Jesuits were chiefly instrumental in defeat

ing the cause of the Reformation in Poland, they would

never have succeeded in their object, had not the Protes

tants themselves greatly contributed to the triumph of their

enemies, by committing many grave errors. The unfortu

nate jealousy and ill-will which the Lutherans constantly

Xll PREFACE.

evinced against the united churches of the Helvetian and

Bohemian confessions, at a time when it was necessary to

lay aside all the minor differences which divided the Pro

testants amongst themselves, in order to act with united

forces against Romanism, the common enemy of all, produced deplorable consequences to the Protestant cause in

Poland. But nothing did so much harm to the same cause

as the anti-Trinitarian doctrines, which rose amidst the

Helvetian churches of that country. The errors with which

they infected many reformed churches, not only altered the

purity of their doctrine, and incrreased dissension amongstProtestants; but they deeply injured the most powerfularm by which the cause of the Reformation was, and alwayswill be promoted, the searching of the Scriptures. Manypersons, terrified by the boldness of the anti-Trinitarian

speculations, were seduced by the Romanist doctrine into

the belief, that the study of the Scriptures ought not to be

allowed to all Christians, as being dangerous to the purityof their faith, and consequently remained in the RomanCatholic communion, which they were on the point of aban

doning; or even having already abandoned that church,

returned into its pale, preferring that persuasion, in spite

of its acknowledged errors and abuses, to a philosophical

school, which reasoned away revelation itself, and reduced

Christianity to a mere code of ethics. It is almost superfluous to add, that one unavoidable consequence produced

by such a school was religious indifference, and that such

indifference was destructive to a party, whose followers

were constantly tempted to desert it by every kind of

seduction on one hand, and persecution on the other, as was

the case with the Protestants in Poland.

It is a remarkable fact, that the history of the Reforma

tion in Poland has been hitherto not only neglected in our

country, but even generally considered as being of minor

PREFACE, Xin

importance to its general history. Many superior writers,

who treated of the history of Poland, scarcely paid any at

tention to the influence which the doctrines of the Refor

mation exercised on our country, and which, according to

our opinion, was of the greatest moment. These doctrines

were professed by the most eminent nobles of the land ;

they were discussed by frequent and numerous synods ; and

the churches where they were preached, the schools where

they were taught, as well as the presses devoted to their

propagation, flourished over all Poland in great num

bers ;* whilst their disciples were able to muster in battle

array forces sufficient to keep in check those of the Roman

ists. It is therefore evident, that a party which was so

powerfully represented could not but exercise an adequate

influence on the affairs of the country ; and the contrary

opinion about its importance may be chiefly ascribed to the

circumstance, that when the Protestant cause began to

decline, the Romanists carefully sought to destroy all

records which had any relation to the doctrines of the

Reformation. The Jesuits invariably exacted from the

families which had relapsed into Romanism the surrender of

all books and documents connected in any way with their

former persuasion, and which they always committed to

the flames. They even purchased at a high price similar

documents wherever they could get them, in order to devote

them equally to destruction.

Notwithstanding those auto-da-fes of Protestant records

in Poland, there are, we think, sufficient materials for

composing a complete history of the Reformation in that

* The celebrated Jesuit Skarga, who lived at the end of the six

teenth, and the beginning of the seventeenth centuries, complains

that more than two thousand Romanist churches were converted into

Protestant ones.

XIV PREFACE.

country : but, unfortunately, they are not all within our

reach, and we have therefore been obliged to make use of

such only as those to which we could get access. Manyprinted books and manuscripts relating to that subject must

be contained in the imperial library of St. Petersburgh, which

was formed from the spoliation of the library of Zaluski,* at

Warsaw, and which was particularly rich in works relating

to that subject, as the learned founder of that library,

bishop Joseph Andreas Zaluski, intended to write a work on

the religious history of Poland. The library of prince Adam

Czartoryski, at Pulawy, contained also splendid materials

for the religious and literary history of Poland ; but a

part of it was seized in 1831 by the Russians, and carried

to St. Petersburgh, whilst a part, and we have reason to

think the most valuable, was saved, and is now in the estates

of the prince in Austrian Poland. The library of the

University of Warsaw, which contained about 200,000

volumes, was also transferred to St. Petersburgh after the

events of 1831 ; and we may therefore consider that capital

as containing the richest store of materials for the religious,

political, and literary history of Poland.

There are still three public libraries within the limits of

ancient Poland, which may afford considerable information to

the historical student of that country, but of which, distance

and other circumstances precluded us from deriving any

advantage. The first of them which is at Leopol (capital of

* The library Zaluski, so called from the name of two learned

bishops, brothers, who collected it at great pains and expense, was

considered one of the best in Europe. The patriotic prelates to

whom it belonged, made a present of it to the public; but after the

final dismemberment of Poland in 1795, this library was seized

by the Russian Government, and transported to St. Petersburgh.This act of spoliation was effected in a very careless manner, and a

great many valuable works were lost on that occasion.

I KLFACE. XV

Austrian Poland), is called the Instituteof Ossolinski, having

been collected and bequeathed to the public by count Maxi

milian Ossolinski, whose learned researches, contained in his

biographical and literary notices on several ancient Polish

authors, have thrown a great deal of new light on the

history of our country, and of which we had an opportunityof availing ourselves. This institute possesses many rare

and important books relating to our subject ; and we sin

cerely hope that, under the superintendence of its present

learned and patriotic trustee, prince Henry Lubomirski, it

will be instrumental in promoting historical information not

only about Poland, but also other Slavonian countries. The

second of these libraries is that of the University of Cracow,

which was a long time superintended by the learned GeorgeSamuel Bandkie, author of several valuable compositions

on the history of Poland. His death (in 1835), was a great

loss to historical science, and is particularly to be lamented,

as he intended to write a work on the same subject that we

have now attempted to treat ; and which, considering his

means of information and known talent, would have un

doubtedly been infinitely superior to a composition of such

modest pretension as this we venture now to offer to the

English public. The third of these above-mentioned libra

ries is at Posnania (capital of Prussian Poland), and it

was founded some years ago by count Edward Raczynski,

who has by that public-spirited action deserved the grati

tude of every lover of national literature. We have great

hopes that this establishment will be particularly conducive

to the advance of information relating to the history of the

Reformation in our country, as it is entrusted to the care

of the learned Mr. Joseph Lukaszewicz, who supported bythe noble founder of the above-mentioned establishment,

has already made extensive and valuable researches on that

xvi PREFACE.

subject, which he has embodied in his history of the Bohe

mian churches in Grand-Poland, and his account of the

Protestant churches in the town of Posnania, two excellent

contributions to the general history of the Reformation in

Poland, from which we have derived considerable assistance

in the composition of the present work. We sincerely

hope, that Mr. Lukaszewicz will continue his useful labours,

and that we shall see at a no distant date, a comprehensive history of the Reformation in our country, from

his able pen.

Although the present work may be considered as the first

attempt at writing a general history of the Reformation in

Poland, many compositions on that subject have been published in different languages. Among the best, may be con

sidered Historia Reformationis Polemics, by Lubienietzki,

a Socinian writer, and Historia Ecclesiarum Slavonicarum,

by Wengierski, a clergyman of the reformed church,

who is also known under his assumed name of Regen-volscius. Both these works, written in the seventeenth

ecntury, contain much valuable information, but give no

comprehensive view of the subject they treat of; and the

former of them naturally evinces a Socinian bias. Friese

published in 1786, in German, one volume of the eccle

siastical history of Poland, and two of contributions to the

history of its Reformation ; but it is to be regretted that the

deep research, and indefatigable industry in collecting facts

by which his work is distinguished, are somewhat injured

by his bigotted partiality to Lutheranism. It would, how

ever, be tedious and uninteresting to the generality of our

readers, if we were to enumerate all the sources which we

have made use of in writing the present sketch, and which

we have consulted chiefly in the library of the British

Museum, which contains an extensive store of books relat-

PREFACE. XVll

ing to Poland not only in Latin, but likewise in the national

language of that country.* There are also some rare and

valuable works relating to our subject in the archiepiscopal

library at Lambeth, the access to which was kindly per

mitted to us by its librarian ; and we have derived great

assistance from the splendid collection at Kensington Palace,

an unreserved use of which was most liberally granted to

us by his Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex, and we

seize this opportunity humbly to acknowledge our deepsense of gratitude for this, as well as many other proofs of

kindness, with which his Royal Highness has honoured the

author of this essay. We received also from the libraries

of Paris many important extracts, which were furnished to

us by a literary friend, with whom we were conjointly en

gaged on some literary labours in Poland, before we were

cast on the hospitable shores of Great Britain, by the

events which agitated our unfortunate country in 1831.

We owe to the same friend, whom we are not authorised

now to name, not only the above-mentioned extracts, but

have obtained, from his indefatigable researches and great

erudition, the most valuable assistance in London; and we

freely confess that, if it had not been for this assistance,

our work would have been even more imperfect than it

is at present.

A history of the Reformation proper, should perhaps

begin only from the time when its doctrines were proclaimed

by Luther and Zuinglius ; but it would have been impossible to account for the causes which facilitated the progress

of these doctrines in our country, without giving a sketch

of its state previously to that momentous revolution. We

* The library of the British Museum possesses almost all the works

of the best Polish authors, which were presented to that library

by Prince Adam Czartoryski.

b

xviii PREFACE.

have therefore devoted the first or introductory part of the

first volume to the delineation of the period from the intro

duction of the Christian religion to the accession of king

Sigismund the First, (965-1508.) We have attempted to

analize in that part of our work, the causes which prepared

the ground for the Reformation of the sixteenth century in

Poland, and which were the opposition of the national or

Slavonian churches to the Roman ritual and discipline;

the free institutions of the country, and the doctrines of

Huss, widely circulated in Poland during the fifteenth

century, in the second part of the same volume, we have

tried to sketch out, firstly, the reign of Sigismund the First

(1508-48), which was marked by the rapid spread of Lu-

theranism in Polish Prussia; by its violent but temporary

suppression occasioned rather by political- than religious

motives, and by the silent but active working of Protes

tant doctrines amongst the upper classes of society, which

produced their powerful manifestation in the ensuing reign.

Secondly, the reign of Sigismund Augustus (1548-1572),

during which the doctrines of the Reformation attained in

Poland their full development ; and we have successively

described the abolition of the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of

the Roman Catholic church in its civil effects, by which

the greatest barrier against the progress of the Reformation

was removed ; the establishment of the three Protestant

churches, viss. the Reformed or Helvetian, the Bohemian

and the Lutheran, as well as the union effected amongst

these churches, and the rise and progress of anti-Trinita-

rianism. We have concluded this volume with the demise of

Sigismund Augustus, whose leaning towards the doctrines

of the Reformation was evident, and whose untimely death

seems to have chiefly prevented their final triumph in our

country. The second and last volume of this work will

be devoted to the melancholy description of the decline of

PREFACE. xix

the Reformation in Poland under the Romanist reaction,

and of the deplorable consequences which it produced in

our country.

Although we have carefully abstained from making use

of passionate language, wherever we expressed our con

demnation, either of the unprincipled proceedings which

were employed for the destruction of the cause of the

Reformation in our country by its enemies, or of the faults

and errors by which its own partisans injured it, we are

afraid that we may have sometimes unwillingly given utter

ance to the bitter feelings with which our breast was fre

quently agitated, in describing the religious and political

disasters of our country. We therefore request the for

giveness of our readers, and beg them to consider for a

moment, what must have been the state offeelings of one

who, educated by a pious mother in the tenets of scriptural

religion, and taught from his earliest infancy to consider

that religion as the only true foundation of his presentand future happiness, and the love of his native landas a sacred duty commanded by its precepts; of one

who, being strongly impressed by those sentiments, was

recording the overthrow of his religion, and the consequentdecline and fall of his country. At the same time, wemost solemnly disclaim every hostile or unkind

feeling

against the followers of the Roman Catholic church, amongstwhom we have many dear friends and relatives. Althoughwe were born and bred in the reformed church of Poland,a great part of our family are Roman Catholics, and to this

circumstance united with some others, it is owing that, in

our country, we have associated much more with the RomanCatholics than with Protestants; and we positively declare,

that we have never experienced from them the slightest actof unkindness on account of our religious persuasion. TheRoman Catholics of Poland are

certainly the most liberal,

b 2

XX PREFACE.

and less bigotted of all in Europe ; and it will be our pleasing

task to enumerate instances of Roman Catholics, not only

laymen, but even prelates of their church, who, animated

by patriotic sentiments, have defended the rights of their

Protestant countrymen.We should perhaps apologise for our presumption in

attempting to write in English ; but the few performances

which we have ventured to publish anonymously in the

same language have been received with so much forbear

ance, that nothing remains to us but to request the English

public to extend the same forbearance to the present work.

Fortunate, indeed, shall we consider ourselves, if this

imperfect attempt of ours to delineate the history of the

Reformation in our country will inspire the English reader

with additional motives to bless Providence, and feel more

grateful for the invaluable boon which it has conferred

on the British nation, by the spread of the knowledge of

the word of God ; and if it serves to increase that sympathy

which the free-born Britons have so strongly manifested for

the misfortunes of our country a country which was for a

long time the bulwark of Christendom against the infidels,

and the sons of which have on many occasions supported

by their swords the cause of scriptural religion against the

oppression of Rome.

LONDON,

September 18, 1838.

CONTENTS.

PART 1.

FROM THE INTRODUCTION OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION TO

THE REFORMATION OF LUTHER.

Establishment of the Christian religion in Poland.

Introduction of Christianity amongst the Slavonian

nations accomplished under peculiar circumstances.

Extent of the Slavonian possessions in the ninth

century. Their form of government, manners, and

religion. Traditions about St. Andreas visit to the

Slavonian nations. Traces of Christianity amongst the

Slavonians as early as the seventh century. Relations

of Cyrillus and Methodius with Rome, andj disputes

about the worship in the national language which they

established amongst their Slavonian converts. Their

influence on Poland. Causes of the extraordinary

success which attended their apostolical labours. The

national churches long resist the Papal oppression in

several Slavonian countries. Traces of their existence

in Poland. Efforts of queen Hedvige to promote

xxii CONTENTS.

Page

divine service and religious instruction in the national

language. Evidence of Roman Catholic authors,

concerning, the existence of the national worship in

Poland. Influence of these churches on the political

relations of the country with Rome. Influence of the

German Emperors on Poland at the time of the baptism

of its duke, Mieczyslaw. Resistance of the Polish

idolaters to the establishment of Christianity. Boleslav

the First unites with his dominions a part of Grand

Moravia, where the national worship was established by

Cyrillus and Methodius. Influence which that circum

stance has produced in Poland attested by some precepts

of the Oriental Church observed by the Roman Catholic

church of Poland. Emperor Otton the Third arrives

in Poland; confers on Boleslav the First, duke of Poland,

the royal dignity, as well as all the rights possessed bythe emperors in ecclesiastical matters. Unfavourable

effect of this circumstance on the national churches.

Pagan reaction during the minority of Casimir the

First. It is suppressed, and paganism disappears from

Poland. Quarrel between king Boleslav the Dauntless

and Stanislav Szczepanowski bishop of Cracow.

Reasons to believe that it originated from other mo

tives than those to which it has been generally ascribed.

Consequences of Boleslav s expulsion from the throne

of Poland. Division of Poland into separate princi

palities by Boleslav the Wrymouth, favourable to the

influence of the clergy. Synod of Lenczyca. Vla

dislav Spindleshanks, duke of Cracow, claims the

inheritance of deceased bishops. He abrogates in his

dominions the privileges of the clergy, and subjects

them to the civil authority. The clergy are obliged to

submit to him. The church recovers its supremacy

under Vladislav Odonicz and Boleslav Pudicus.

Quarrels about tithes. Reasons why the opposition to

CONTENTS. XXlii

Page

the authority of the Roman Catholic church was

stronger in Polandjjinn^n^pt^^nniintri^g

enlvjppttn

domination. Disputes between the Popes and the kings

of Poland about the right of nominating bishops, which

end in a complete triumph of the latter. The internal

state of the clergy in Poland, and its relations with

Rome during that period, are very little known.

Marriage of Priests. Religious sects. Waldensians.

Flagellants and Fratricelli. John Pirnensis and his

followers. Influence of the Hussite doctrines, Anti-

romanist manifestations in Bohemia previously to Huss,

and their influence on Poland. Influence of Wicliff on

Bohemia and Poland. Quarrel between the national and

the German or foreign parties at the university of

Prague. The national party, headed by Huss, gains

its point, and the Germans retire from Prague.

Intimate connexion of Poland with Bohemia during that

period. The Polish nobility present at the council of

Constance zealously take the part of Huss. Spread

of Hussite doctrines in Poland. Political relations

between Poland and Bohemia during the Hussitan

wars. A Polish prince is sent with an army to the assis

tance of the Hussites. A public disputation between the

delegates of the Hussites and the doctors of the univer

sity of Cracow takes place at Cracow, in the presence of

the king and the senate. Favourable reception of a Hus

site embassy by the Polish bishops ; but the bishop of

Cracow foils, by his violent zeal, their conciliatory views.

Revolutionary movements of the Polish Hussites.

After a momentary success, they are defeated. The

Hussite party elects Casimir Jaguellon, prince of Poland,

king of Bohemia ; but several circumstances prevent

his taking possession of the throne. Casimir having

succeeded to the throne of Poland, supports George

Podiebrad, the Hussite king of Bohemia. The Polish

XXiv CONTENTS.

Page

prince, Vladislav, is elected king of Bohemia, by which

the Jaguellian dynasty was established on the throne of

that country. Probable causes why the Hussite doc

trines did not gain the upper-hand in Poland. Religious

and political state of Poland during the fifteenth

century. Reform in the church proposed by Ostrorog

to the Polish Diet of 1549. Sketch of the Oriental

church of Poland during that period ... ... 106

PART II.

Comprehending eventsfrom 1508 to the Jinal establishment of the

Protestant doctrines in that country 1572.

CHAPTER I.

REIGN OF SIGISMUND THE FIRST 1508-1548.

State of the Roman Catholic church in Poland at the begin

ning of the sixteenth century. Anti-Romanist works

published in Poland a few years before the beginning

of Luther s reformation. The Lutheran doctrines cir

culate in Polish-Prussia very soon after they had been

proclaimed at Wittenberg. Affairs of Dantzic. Revo

lutionary movement effected by the reformers of

Dantzic. Sigismund the First, king of Poland, sup

presses, by a display of authority, the Reformation and

the new political order in Dantzic, and restores its

ancient political state of things. Reasons for believing

that this reaction was brought about by political, and

not religious motives. Spread of Lutheranism in other

CONTENTS. XXV

Page

parts of Polish-Prussia. Their revival at Dantzic.

The doctrines of the Reformation meet with little success

in the duchy of Mazovia. Different resolutions adopted

by the Roman Catholic clergy of Poland, in order to

arrest the progress of the Reformation. Prohibition

to Polish students to frequent Protestant universities.

A royal ordinance establishes the liberty of the press in

Poland in 1539. The Diet of Cracow, in 1543, grants to

the inhabitants of Poland the liberty of studying at the

foreign universities. Personal character of Sigismundthe First. Influence of queen Bona on the affairs of

Protestantism. Secret society for discussing theological

subjects established at Cracow. Account of the Bohe

mian Brethren. Their arrival in Poland ... ... 107

CHAPTER II.

PROGRESS OF THE REFORMATION DURING THE FIRST YEARS

OF THE REIGN OF SIGISMUND AUGUSTUS.

Agitated state of the country at the accession of Sigismund

Augustus, caused by his marriage with Barbara Radzi-

will. Unwise line of policy followed on that occasion

by the Protestant nobles. Riot of the students of the

university of Cracow, and emigration of a great number

of them to foreign academies. Valenty, parish priest of

Krzczonow, gives the first instance of marrying a wife,

and of openly avowing his Protestant opinions.

Zebrzydowski, bishop of Cracow, a violent opponent of

the Reformation. Character of that prelate. His vain

attempt to persecute Przeclawski, a noble who had

publicly embraced Protestantism. Nicolaus Olesnicki

converts the first Roman Catholic church into a Pro

testant. He is summoned for this act before the king

and the senate. Difference of opinion about his judg-

XXvi CONTENTS.

Page

ment. He goes unpunished. The Roman Catholic

synod of Piotrkow of 1551 resolves to extirpate heresy

by all possible means. Attempt to put into execution

the resolutions of their synod. Martyrdom of Nicolaus,

parish priest of Kurow. Unsuccessful attempts at per

secuting Stadnicki and other nobles. The attempts of

the Roman Catholic clergy raise a violent opposition on

the part of the nobles of Poland 152

CHAPTER III.

THE DIET OF 1552 VIRTUALLY ABROGATES THE ECCLE

SIASTICAL JURISDICTION. ORZECHOWSKI, MODRZEWSKI AND

STANCARI ; THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE RELIGIOUS AF

FAIRS OF POLAND.

Orzechowski, his character and influence on the religious

affairs of Poland. He marries a wife in spite of being a

Roman Catholic priest, and is persecuted for that.

His vigorous defence. Hostile feelings evinced against

the Roman Catholic clergy, manifested by the Diet of

1550. Influence of Orzechowski at that Diet. Ge

neral irritation against the Roman Catholic clergy.

The Diet of 1552 manifests at its opening the most

decided anti-Romanist opinions. The bishops refuse to

surrender their rights, The ecclesiastical jurisdiction is

virtually abrogated by that Diet, which deprived the

decrees of the spiritual courts of having any civil

effects. Irritation of the Roman Catholic bishops

against that enactment. Attempts of the Roman Ca

tholic clergy to evade that enactment. Versatility of

Orzechowski, who reconciliates himself with the Roman

Catholics. But again quarrels with them. Orze-

chowski s letters to the Popes Julius the Third and

CONTENTS. xxvii

Page

Paul the Fourth. His pungent remarks on the oath

of fidelity to the Pope taken by the Roman Catholic

bishops. He becomes finally reconciled with the Roman

Catholic church, and turns his attacks against its an

tagonists. Andreas Modrzewski, his character and

writings. Stancari, principal object of the attacks of

Orzechowski. Political doctrines supported by Orze-

chowski after his final reconciliation with Rome 179

CHAPTER IV.

COUNCIL OF TRENT, AND ATTEMPTS AT THE CONVOCATION

OF A GENERAL NATIONAL SYNOD ... .. 216

CHAPTER V.

SKETCH OF THE LIFE AND LABOURS OF JOHN LASKI, OR

ALASCO.

Birth and parentage of Laski. Laski s connexion with

Erasmus. He leaves his country in order to devote

himself more effectually to the cause of the Refor

mation. He publicly embraces the reformed religion ;

and settles in Friesland, where he is entrusted with the

organization of the churches Laski is invited byCranmer to assist him in reforming the church of

England. His first visit to England. He returns to

England, and is created superintendent of the foreign

churches. Laski is obliged to leave England with his

congregation. They suffer persecution from the Luthe

rans in Denmark and in some parts of Germany.

Efforts of Laski to unite the Protestant churches.

xxviii CONTENTS.

Page

Laski s return to Poland, where he continues his aposto

lical labours. The Italian Lismanini inflicts great injury

to the cause of the reformation in Poland, by embracing

anti-Trinitarian opinions 238

CHAPTER VI.

THE PAPAL NUNCIO LIPPOMANI ARRIVES IN POLAND.

ROMAN CATHOLIC SYNOD OF LOVICZ CONVOKED UNDER

HIS AUSPICES. COMMENDONI AND THE COUNCIL OF

TRENT.

Demands of the Polish Diet addressed to the Council of

Trent. Arrival of Lippomani in Poland. The fallacy

of the papal promises to reform the church by a general

council, and the dangers threatening the country from

the residence of his legate, are ably exposed by Verge-

riUSj Letter of the Pope to Sigismund Augustus,

reproaching him for his inclination to the Protestants.

Effects of Lippomani s intrigues in Poland. He advises

the king to extirpate heresy by treachery and bloodshed,

and excites against himself a general hatred throughout

all the country. Roman Catholic synod of Lovicz.

It makes a show of independence ; which is, however,

soon overcome by the intrigues ofLippomani Remark

able confession of this synod about the state of the

Roman Catholic church in Poland, and the causes of its

corruption. The synod fails in its attempt at prosecuting

a refractory priest Judicial murder committed by the

synod on some Jews and one Christian woman.

Correspondence between Lippomani and Radziwill.

The convocation of a national synod prevented by the

intrigues of Commendoni, the legate of the Pope.

CONTENTS. xxix

Page

Poland takes no part in the council of Trent, and op

poses its enactments ... ... ... ... 285

CHAPTER VII.

CONTINUATION OF THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN PROTESTANT

ISM AND ROMANISM, AND FURTHER INCREASE OF RE

FORMATION IN THE VARIOUS PROVINCES OF POLAND.

Roman Catholic synod of Piotrkow enactment against

foreign ministers, maintaining anti-Trinitarian doctrines.

Fruitless attempts of Hosius to apply that ordinance to

the Bohemian Brethren. It is applied to the celebrated

Ochino, who is obliged to leave Poland. The RomanCatholic clergy tries in vain to persecute the citizens of

Posnania. Otwinowski insults the most sacred cere

mony of the Roman Catholic church, during a public pro

cession in the streets of Lublin. He is accused, tried,

and acquitted ; but a new law is enacted to protect the

worship of all religious parties. Insidious propositions

made by the bishops to the Protestants. Establishment

of Lutheranism in Polish-Prussia. Lutheranism, estab

lished in Livonia, is confirmed at the union of that pro

vince with Poland. A reformed church is erected at

Cracow, with the privilege of the monarch. Estab

lishment ofthe Bohemian Brethren in Poland, and rapid

^extension of their church. They establish a union with

the Helvetian church in Poland 320

CHAPTER VIII.

RISE AND PROGRESS OF THE ANTI-TRINITARIAN SECT IN

POLAND.

First manifestations of anti-Trinitarian doctrines in Poland.

Gonesius publicly proclaims them at a synod in 1556.

XXX CONTENTS.

Page

Gonesius gains many followers. The school of Pinczow

becomes chiefly infected with those doctrines, which are

divided into several shades. Efforts of the reformed

church of Poland to combat these dangerous doctrines,

and violent advice given to it by the reformers of

Switzerland. Blandrata, and his influence on the pro

gress of anti-Trinitarianism in Poland. Gregory Pauli

gives to the anti-Trinitarian doctrines a more complete

development. The reformed synod of Cracow, in 1563,

formally condemns the doctrines of the anti-Trinitarians,

and establishes a final separation from them. Anti-Tri

nitarian synod of Mordy. Synod of Wengrow. Prin

cipal tenets of their sect. Public disputation between

the reformed and the anti-Trinitarians, held at the Diet

of Piotrkow in 1566 344

CHAPTER IX.

EFFORTS MADE BY THE PROTESTANTS TO EFFECT A UNIONOF THEIR CHURCHES, AND ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THAT

OBJECT, BY THE CONSENT OF SANDOMIR (CONSENSUS

SANDOMIRIENSIS.)

Opposition of the Lutherans to the union of the three

Protestant churches of Poland. A deputation is sent bythe Bohemian Brethren to the chief reformers of Europe,who approve their confession. Synods of Xionz and

Posnania convened in order to promote that union.

Morgenstern, the Lutheran pastor of Thorn, a zealous

opponent of the Bohemian Brethren. The Lutheran

synod of Posnania accuses the Bohemian Brethren of

maintaining heretical tenets. Answer of the Bohemian

Brethren to that accusation. The dispute is referred to

the judgment of the divines of Wittenberg, who decide

CONTENTS. XXxi

Page

it in favour of the Bohemians. The synod of Sandomir,

in 1570, effects the desired union. Act of the consent

of Sandomir. Consensus Sandomiriensis. Enactments

of the synod of Posnania, which gives a further deve

lopment to the resolutions passed by that of Sandomir . . 366

CHAPTER X.

INTRODUCTION OF THE JESUITS INTO POLAND BY CARDINAL

HOSIUS ; SKETCH OF THE CHARACTER OF THAT PRELATE

DEATH OF SIGISMUND AUGUSTUS, AND SKETCH OF HIS

CHARACTER.

Sketch of Hosius s life and character. His political

opinions. Introduction of the Jesuits into Poland.

Death of Sigismund Augustus, and sketch of his

character ... ... ... ... .. 399

HISTORICAL SKETCH

REFORMATION IN POLAND

PART I.

FROM THE INTRODUCTION OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

TO THE REFORMATION OF LUTHER.

THE generally admitted opinion, founded on the Estabiishme,

evidence of ancient chronicles, is, that on the 5thMarch 965 Mieczyslaw* the First, duke of Po- land

land, received the sacrament of the holy baptism,having been induced to take that step by the

persuasions of his consort, the Bohemian Princess Dombrovka, and that he abolished idolatryand established Christianity throughout his domi-

> Pronounced Miecheeslav ; it signifies in Slavonian thesword of glory. The Slavonian names have generally a signification, as for instance : Vladislav, the ruler of glory ; Sta-

nislav, the establisher of glory; Kasimir, destroyer of peace ;

Vladimir, ruler of peace ; &c.

VOL. I.

2 SKETCH OF THE

nions. Yet it is neither agreeable to the nature

of things, nor can it stand the test of a sound

historical criticism, that a nation should on a

sudden change the worship of its ancestors for a

new although enlightened religion, without havingbeen long previously prepared for that mighty

revolution, by a continual and successive instilla

tion of the new doctrines. However lax and

unsystematical the tenets of the northern idolaters

in general were, we see them in every country of

fering more or less resistance before they yielded

to the influence of the light of the gospel. Their

opposition was always the most stubborn wher

ever the doctrines of Christianity were introduced

by the strong hand of temporal authority, instead

of being propagated by ministers of the Gospel

deserving of that name. Indeed we always see,

that a few missionaries, destitute of worldly powerand riches, but animated by the spirit of Christian

meekness and charity, have more easily overcome

the obstinacy of the pagans than all those mighty

monarchs who tried to convert by the argumentsof fire and sword, either their own subjects or

conquered nations.

It is improbable that Poland should form an

exception to that general phenomenon ;and in

deed there is sufficient historical evidence, that the

rays of the Gospel, which in the ninth century

enlightened many Slavonian nations, had pene

trated into Poland long before the conversion of

REFORMATION IN POLAND. 3

Mieczyslaw. There are also facts which prove,

that after the Christian religion had become the

persuasion of the rulers of the country, the an

cient idolatry continued for some time to strug

gle against the domination of the cross before it

became totally extinct.

We cannot speak of the introduction of the introduction

of Christianity

Christian religion into Poland, without slightly amongst the

Slavonian na-

mentionmg the manner in which the doctrines of tions accom-

the Gospel were manifested amongst the great pecuHar

Ucir-

er

family of the Slavonian* nations, of which the

Poles constitute a most important branch. Thecircumstances under which that great moral

revolution was effected are peculiar, and different

from those under which the conversion of the

generality of European nations was accomplished;

* We have adopted this manner of spelling instead of Scla-

vonians, generally used by the English writers. There are

two opinions about the origin of their name ; one, that it is

derived from slava (glory), and the other that it proceeds from

slovo (word). This last opinion is supported by the circumstance,

that the name given to Germans by all Slavonian nations is

Niemietz, which is synonimous with dumb. It is supposed,

therefore, that the Slavonians, who call themselves not only

Slavianie, but Slovenie, literally warders, gave to themselves

this name, believing to be exclusively gifted with the use of

the word, whilst they called foreigners, whom they were unable

to understand, Niemietz, or dumb. The Byzantine writers,

who corrupted the names of all nations, called the Slavonians

2*x/3)jvov$ or 2xAaji>nv8f ; hence the English Sclavomans and

the French Esclarons.

B 2

4 SKETCH OF THE

and indeed, in the very beginning of the Christian

religion amongst the Slavonian nations, althoughconverted under the influence of the Popes, were

already sown the germs of an opposition to the

power of Rome, at least in matters of discipline

and outward form of worship. This opposition,

which constantly manifested itself with more or

less success, prepared the ground for the refor

mation of Huss, a reformation which certainly

would have been not less powerful and extensive

than that of Luther, if the mighty engine of the

press had been already invented, and could have

been used for the speedy propagation of the holy

scriptures.Extent of the At the beginning of the ninth century theSlavonian pos-

J

sessions in the Slavonians inhabited a most extensive tract ofninth century.

eastern Europe. Their possessions extended from

the Black Sea along the Danube, and to the south

west of that river, on the shores of the Adriatic,

occupying the ancient Roman provinces of Pan-

nonia, Dacia, Illyria, and Dalmatia;from the

northern point of the Adriatic, the Slavonian

settlements continued bordering on the Tyrol and

Bavaria to the upper part of the Elbe, occupyingthe country between that river and the Saala as

well as all the right bank of the Elbe, extendingover the southern shore of the Baltic from Jutland

to the mouths of the Vistula; from the Vistula

(with the exception of the coast of the Baltic,

inhabited by another race) the Slavonians were


spread over all the country situated between that

river and the Danube. Thus they possessed the

immense tract of land which now constitutes the

greatest part of the Austrian dominions as

Hungary, the provinces bordering on Italy and

the Tyrol, Bohemia and Moravia, a great part of

Saxony, the March of Brandeburg, Silesia, Po-

merania, and the isle of Rugen were included in

the Slavonian possessions ;the territory which

had constituted ancient Poland as \vell as a great

part of the Russian empire in Europe, completedthe dominions of that immense race, \vhich even

now is supposed by the ablest geographers to com

prehend a population of about 70,000,000 souls.

This numerous race, divided into many tribes, go^frament,

existed, according to contemporary authors, under" e " and

republican or popular forms of government.

However, it seems that they generally acknow

ledged the sway of hereditary or elected chieftains,

who governed with the consent of national assem

blies called Viecha, and exercised more or less

limited powers delegated to them by the above-

mentioned assemblies. The Slavonians are des

cribed by the Byzantine writers,* who observed

them on the borders of the Danube, as well as bythe German missionaries^ who cultivated an inter-

*Emperor Mauritius and Procopius.

f Adam of Bremen, Vita Sancti Ottonis ; Helmoldus ;

Dittmar of Merseburg, c Adam of Bremen says of the Sla

vonians," Moribus ct hospitalitate nulla gens honestior." The

same

SKETCH OF THE

Traditions

about St. An-dreas visit to

the Slavonian

nations.

course with those that inhabited the shores of the

Baltic, as devoted to agricultural pursuits, mild

and domestic in their manners, brave but peaceful,

hospitable to strangers, and devout in the worship

of their idols.

The Slavonian mythology rivals in beautiful

imagery that of ancient Greece, \vhile it is free

from the gross impurity by which the latter of

them is tainted ;and the moral precepts which

were taught by the religion ofthe Slavonians seem

to be far superior to all those which were inculcat

ed by the idolatrous creeds of the rest of Europe.

However interesting might prove an inquiry

into the origin, manners, religion, and history of

this immense race, so little known in this country,

neither the limits nor the nature of the present

work permit us to make such a digression. Wetherefore return to our immediate object, which is

the conversion of the Slavonian nations.

There is an ancient tradition which says, that

already Saint Andreas, the apostle, preached the

gospel to the Slavonians, having penetrated as

far as the spot where the town of Kiof was

afterwards built.* Although there is nothing

same author in describing the Slavonian town Julin, or Vineta,

situated on the shores of the Baltic at the mouth of the Oder,

says," Nihil non habet jucundi aut rari." Vide Dobrowski

Slavin.

* Nestor relates this event as a mere tradition ; he has pro

bably taken it from some Byzantine writer.


improbable in this tradition, there is neither

any historical evidence to prove his missionary

voyage, nor are there any traces of Christianity

being spread in those parts at such an early

period. We must consequently pass over all

those times, about which \ve can only makevain conjectures, and arrive at the ninth century,

which is the epoch when the reign of the

gospel was finally established amongst our Sla

vonian ancestors.

It is impossible to admit that the Slavonians, Traces of

. . Christianity

bordering on such an extensive line of frontiers, amongst the

. /~ii / iSlavonians as

with the Christians or the east and the west, had early as the se-

remained totally ignorant of the truths of the

gospel. There were, indeed, many conversions

amongst them, naturally effected by the frequent

intercourse, in war and peace, with the Christians.

But although those conversions seem to have been

extensive already in the seventh century, as the

Sixth Synod of Constantinople, held in 680, numbers the Slavonians amongst the Christian nations,*

and an individual of that nation occupied the patriarchal see of Byzantium in 766 ;t yet it does not

appear that Christianity had been established by

any Slavonian nation as a dominant religion pre

viously to the middle of the ninth century. It was

* Vide J. Amos. Comenius. Ratio discipline Amstelodami,

1660.

f Theophanes, Cedrenus,, Zonaras, &c. apud Stritter, Memo-rice Populorum, &c., vol. ii. page 80.

8 SKETCH OF THE

about that time that the Bulgarians, who inhabit

ed the banks of the Danube and had a constant

and immediate intercourse with Constantinople,

became converted by Greek missionaries. Theconversion of great Moravia was completed by

Cyrillus or Coristantine and Methodius, two bro

thers, natives of Thessalonica, well versed in the

Slavonian language, who were sent by the Greek

emperor Michael the Third to Moravia, at the re

quest of the monarch of that country. Nestor, the

most ancient of the Slavonian chroniclers, posi

tively says, that the inhabitants of Moravia had

already been baptised before the arrival of Methodius and Cyrillus and that they were called in,

particularly in order to translate the Scripturesinto the Slavonian tongue.*

* The Moravian princes Rostislav, Sviatopolk, and Kotzel

sent to the emperor Michael, and said :" Our land is baptized,

but we have no teachers who would instruct us and translate for

us the sacred books. We do not understand either the Greek or

the Latin tongue some teach us one thing and some another;

therefore we do not understand the meaning of the Scriptures,

neither their import. Send us teachers who might explain to

us the words of the scripture and their meaning." When the

emperor Michael heard this, he called together his philosophers,

and told to them the message of the Slavonian princes, and the

philosophers said :et there is at Thessalonica a man nsraecl Leon;

he has two sons who know well the Slavonian language, and are

both cleverphilosophers." On hearing this, the emperor sent to

Thessalonica to Leon saying :" Send to us thy sons Methodius

and Constantine;"

which hearing, Leon directly sent them, and

when


They effected that important work to the great

satisfaction of the Slavonian population ;

" and

the Slavonians rejoiced on hearing the greatness

of God related in their own tongue," says Nestor.

The papal records prove also that Moravia be

longed to the spiritual authority of the archbishop

of Passau about 82030. The archbishop of

Saltzburg consecrated in 836 the church of Nitra,

a town situated in Hungary but belonging at that

time to great Moravia. But the Moravian Slavo

nians seem to have entertained a strong aversion

to a mode of worship which was introduced bythe Germans, with whom they were constantly at

variance, and which prevented them from address-

sing the Supreme Being in the language of their

fathers.

It is generally asserted that Cyrillus and Methodius, in translating the Scriptures, invented

the Slavonian letters, which even in our time con

tinue to be in use, and are known under the name

when they came to the emperor he said to them :" The Slavo

nian lands have sent to me requesting teachers that mighttranslate for them the holy scriptures." And being persuaded

by the emperor, they went into the Slavonian land to Rostislav,

to Swiatopolk, and to Kotzel. And having arrived, they began

to compose a Slavonian alphabet, and translated the Acts of the

Apostles and the Gospels, and the Slavonians rejoiced hearing

the greatness of God in their own language. After which they

translated the Psalter, and the Octoik, and the other books.

Vide Annals of Nestor, original text, edit. St. Petersburg

1767, pages 20-23.

10 SKETCH OF THE

of Cyrillian letters. Nevertheless we have suffi

cient reasons to believe that the Slavonians were

acquainted with the use of letters, and possessed

of a no inconsiderable degree of civilisation even

before their conversion to Christianity.* And

indeed, whatever may have been the talents of

Cyrillus and Methodius, it is almost impossible to

* There is no doubt that many Slavonian nations were ac

quainted with the use of letters previously to the introduction

of the Christian religion, but it is impossible to ascertain whe

ther those letters were peculiar to the Slavonians or borrowed

from other nations. The ancient chronicles of Bohemia speak

of legislative tables (deski pravodatne) in the seventh century.

Vide Palacki s Geschichte von Bohmen, vol. i. page ]82. The

ancient Slavonian name for a wizard, Czarnoknisnikt signifies

literally one occupied with black books, which leads to the sup

position that the Slavonian conjurers made use of certain scrip

tures in performing their incantations. Martinus Gallus speaks

of Polish chronicles previously to the introduction of the Chris

tian religion, which were destroyed by the Christian mission

aries. According to Dittmar of Merseburg, who lived in the

eleventh century, the Baltic Slavonians had idols with inscrip

tions. The Slavonian idols which have been found in the duchyof Meclemburg had Runic inscriptions. The Cyrillian alphabet

is used now, with some alterations, in Russia, Moldavia, Walla-

chia, and Servia. It is nothing but the Greek alphabet with

the addition of some new letters in order to express such sounds

in which the Greek language is deficient. The evidence of

Byzantian authors on this subject, which is not correct, maybe found in Stritter s Memories Populorum, vol. ii. page 964.

The Dalmatian Slavonians have a separate alphabet called the

Glagolite, the invention of which has been erroneously attribu

ted to Saint Hieronymus, because during his life-time there

were no Slavonians in the Roman empire.

REFORMATION IN POLAND. 1 1

admit that a translation as perfect as that they

have accomplished, could be made in a languagehitherto entirely uncultivated.

The Byzantine writer Procopius, who lived in

the sixth century, and the celebrated biographerof Charlemagne Eginhard, who wrote in the

eighth, agree in stating that all the Slavonian

nations made use in their times of the same lan

guage. This opinion is corroborated by the evidence

of Nestor, who flourished in the eleventh century,*

as well as by the fact that the bible of Cyrill and

Methodius is still in use amongst all the Slavonian

nations following the tenets of the eastern church,

and that the same nations have also preserved the

language of that bible in the performance of

divine service. It is probably owing to that uni

versality of a common idiom, that the labours of

Cyrillus and Methodius obtained a rapid success

amongst all the Slavonians.

It was just the time of the disputes between Relations of

the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Pope, Methodius

which led to the final separation of the western and disputes* . j , about the wor-from the eastern church. Amongst many reasons ship in the

of quarrel, the domination over the newly con-

verted Slavonian nations was a no inconsiderable

subject of contest between Constantinople and ^s

onian con "

Rome. It is clear that Cyrillus and Methodius,

*

Procopius apud Stritter, tom.xi. page 29, s. 18. Eginhard

apud Dobrowski Slavin, annals of Nestor original text, edit, of

St. Petersburg 1767, page 23.

12 SKETCH OF THE

although they introduced amongst their new

converts the rites of the oriental church, and

performed divine service in the vernacular tongue,

acknowledged the supremacy of the Pope ;be

cause we see them receiving an approbation of

their pious labours from Pope John VIII., be

fore whose tribunal they were called in order to

give an explanation of their procedings.*

The readiness with which that Pope approveda mode of worship to which his successors have

only sometimes reluctantly assented, was probably

* And some persons began to blame the Slavonian Scriptures,

saying that it does not become any nation to have its own

alphabet except the Hebrews, the Greeks, and the Latins,

according to the inscription of Pilate, which he wrote on the

cross of our Lord. But the Roman Pope having heard this,

rebuked those who murmured against the Slavonian scriptures,

and said, Let the words of the scripture be fulfilled, and all

the nations praise God." Vide Nestor loco citato. The Pope, in

permitting the use of the vernacular tongue, ordered that the

gospel should be read before in Latin, and then in Slavonian.

Jubemus ut in omnibus Ecclesiis propter majorem honorificen-

tiam evangelium Latine legatur, et post, Slavonica lingua transla-

tum in auribus populi Latina verba non intelligentis annuncietur,

sicut in quibusdam ecclesiis fieri videfur. Vide Schlozer et

Stredowski, Moravia Sacra Historia, apud Friese Beytrage zur

Reformations geschichte in Polen, t. 1 . Cyrillus et Methodius

lingua Grceca et Slavica prompti, evocati Romam et inquisiti

cur in lingua Slavica divina celebrarent et non in Latina. Ro-

manus Pontifex permisit, ut lingua Slavica celebranda laudaretur

Deus, qui mos ad tempora mea, (1506,) circa Cracoviam in

ccclesia Sanctce Crucis observatus, sed jam extinctus cst. Mat-

thaeus de Miechow, in lib. i. cap. 13.


caused by his fear that, in the pending contest

between himself and the Greek patriarchs, the

Slavonian missionaries might, in case of refusal,

withdraw their obedience from the Roman pontiff

and transfer it to his opponent. Be this as it

may, Cyrillus and Methodius (who became arch

bishop of Moravia) continued all their lives to

propagate the Gospel, ordaining priests, and ad

ministering sacraments according to the rites of

the oriental church, and performing divine service

in the vernacular tongue, notwithstanding many

obstacles they were obliged to overcome in follow

ing that wise course.

These holy men limited not their apostolical ^ja

n

n

fl

duence

labours to Moravia, but extended them to other

Slavonian countries. They completed the con

version of Bohemia in 871, and introduced there

the Slavonian worship, which lasted in that

country till 1094, when it was entirely abolished

by the influence of Rome.* It is even supposed

that they themselves visited Poland, and there is

no doubt that their disciples were very active in

that country.!

* Vide Palacky s Geschichte von Bbhmen. The Slavonian

sacred books were destroyed by the Romanists.

4-"

Quinosper beatos Pontifices et confessores tuos, nostrosque

patronos Cyrillum et Methodium ad unitatem Fidei Christiana

vocare dignatus es." Qfficia patronorum regni Polmice. Antver-

pice,1637. These words seem to imply that Methodius and

Cyrillus were chiefly instrumental in converting Poland. The

diocese

14 SKETCPI OF THE

We have in our history a legend of king Piast,

who founded a dynasty which reigned in Poland

till tlie* hliddle of the fourteenth, and continued

to rule in Silesia and Pomerania as late as the

seventeenth century.

It is said that this Piast, a common farmer and

wheelwright, lived near Krusvitza, the ancient

capital of Poland, and was renowned for his

virtues, and particularly his great hospitality.

One day, when he was sitting with his wife before

the door of his cottage, two angels in the disguise

of travellers presented themselves to request his

hospitality. Piast received with the utmost

kindness the strangers, who in departing madethemselves known to their host, and predicted his

speedy elevation to the throne of his country.

Soon after the reigning family became extinct,

and Piast was elected monarch by general accla

mation, as the most virtuous of his nation,

We are strongly inclined to suppose, that those

angels were no others than Christian missionaries,

who on account of their doctrines, so much above

the morals of the idolaters, were considered bythem as beings of a nature superior to humanity.We are confirmed in this opinion by the simplestatement of an early chronicler,* who plainly

diocese ofPrzemy si , in Austrian Poland, honours till the present

day Methodius and Cyrillus as the founders of the Christian

religion in those parts.* Martin Gall us.


calls them strangers (hospes), without observing

any thing marvellous and supernatural in their

appearance. It may be that they were the

identical Cyrillus and Methodius, who in their

apostolical peregrinations could have been easily

induced to visit a man enjoying a high reputation

in the country.

We trust that our readers will pardon us this

digression into the land of romantic tradition,

and we again return to facts averred by the most

credible records of those times.

The extraordinary success with which the Causes ofthe

extraordinary

apostolical zeal of Cyrillus and Methodius was success which

rewarded, and the rapid spreading of the light apostolical ia-

of the Gospel amongst the Slavonian nations, is

chiefly to be attributed to the really Christian

spirit in which those conversions were effected.

No self-seeking motives of worldly interest seem

to have tainted their evangelical labours. Theynever sought to make Christianity a tool for

political ends, by perverting the sublime precepts

which the Gospel inculcates about meekness,

patience, and forbearance, into the abject doctrines

of an unconditional submission to the abhorrent

yoke of invading foreigners. But it was quite the

reverse with the German missionaries, who made

sundry attempts to convert the adjacent Slavoni

ans; they always made Christianity subservient

to political purposes ;and the German missiona

ries preached the word of God to clear the way

16 SKETCH OF THE

for the domination of the emperors. All Slavonian

countries, which have been converted by western

missionaries, fell entirely under the political

influence of the Germans, who eradicated with an

unceasing hostility the language and institutions

of those countries ;whilst those strongholds of

nationality sacred to every people that has not

reached the lowest pitch of degradation, were left

untouched by Cyrillus and Methodius. This

circumstance sufficiently accounts for the great

success of those pious and liberal missionaries, as

well as explains the obstacles generally met bythe German clergy, whose conversions amongstthe Slavonians were almost synonymous with

destruction.*

* Lest we might incur the accusation of having been carried

away by our Slavonian feelings, we will support what we have

advanced by the evidence of the Germans themselves :" Au-

divi cum veracissimus rex Danorum sermocinando replicaret,

populos Slawnorumjam dudum procul dubiofacile converti posse

ad Christianitatem nisi Saxonum obstitisset avaritia ; quibus,

inquit mens pronior est ad pensiones vectigalium quam ad conver-

sionem gentilium. Nee attendant miseri quantum suce cupiditatis

luant periculum, qui Christianitatem in Slavonia primo peravaritiam turbaverunt, delude per crudelitatem subjectos ad rebel

landum coegerunt, et nunc salutem eorum qui credere vellent,

pecuniam solam exigendo contemnant. Adami Bremensi, Hist.

Eccles. lib. iii. cap. 25. Dux Bernhardus gentem Winulorum

per avaritiam crudeliter opprimens ad necessitatem Paganismi

coegit. Helmoldi chronicon Slavonorum, lib. i. c. 19. Slavi scrvi-

tutis jugtim armata manu submoverunt, tantaque animi obstinatia

libertatem defendere nisi sunt utprius voluerint mori, quam Chris-

tianitatis


After the final separation of the Eastern from

the Western church, the Popes became even more

anxious than before to extirpate amongst the

Slavonians the worship in the national language

and the communion of two kinds, which they held

in common with the Greeks. The Synod of

Salona, held in 106*0, declared Methodius an

heretic, and the Slavonian alphabet a diabolical

tianilatis tiiulum resumere aut tributa solvere Saxonorum

principibusS Hist. 1. i. chap. 25. The complaint addressed

by the Bavarian bishops to Pope John the IXth against the

independence of Moravia from their spiritual jurisdiction

breathes a most unevangelical spirit :" Sive velint sive nolint

regno nostro subjecti erunt." They say of the Moravians, whose

attachment to the scriptures and the worship in the national

language they represent as a relapse into paganism," incessante

corda eorum diabola Christianitatem abhorrerecceperunt." Vide

Palacky s Geschichte, v. Bohmen, lib. i. pp. 153 and 200. This

persecution exterminated at last all vestiges of Slavonianism in

many countries which were conquered by the Germans. Thus

in Pomerania, the isle of Rugen, Mecklenburg, the March of

Brandenburg, and some parts of Saxony, which were formerlyinhabited by Slavonians, their language is entirely superseded

by the German. There are traces that the Slavonian languagewas used in official acts in the country about Leipsic as late as

the beginning of the fourteenth century. The last individual who

spoke Slavonian in Pomerania died 1404. In Lusatia the Slavo

nian language is still preserved, and is spoken at a distance of

twenty English miles from Dresden. Many towns in the north

eastern part of Germany have names evidently derived from the

Slavonian, whilst many others have two names, one Slavonian

and another German, being generally either a translation or a

corruption of the first.

VOL. I. C

18 SKETCH OF THE

invention. However, in spite of all the Papal

efforts, those privileges could never be com

pletely eradicated. There is, indeed, sufficient

historical evidence to prove, that although the

generality of the Slavonian churches conformed

to the Roman ritual, the national liturgy, some

times in opposition, and sometimes with the

connivance of Rome, continued to maintain itself

a long time in many parts of Bohemia, Moravia,

The national Silesia, and Poland. The reformation of Huss,

the Papalof which hereafter we shall amply speak, derived

- its greatest support from the spirit of indepen-nian countries. dence preserve(j by the traditional attachment to

those national churches. But it would exceed the

compass of the present work if we should trace

those sacred remains in all the Slavonian lands,

and we must therefore limit ourselves to the

country which is the immediate object of our

present researches.

Traces of their At the time when Methodius and Cyrillusexistence in . ...

Poland. were presiding over the churches ol great Moravia,

the south-western part of Poland, which after

wards constituted the province called little Poland,

formed a part of that mighty empire. The diocese

of Velegrad, capital of Moravia, of which Methodius was the first archbishop, extended as far as

the banks of Styr, a river flowing in the present

government of Volhynia. It was therefore a

natural consequence that Christianity, accordingto the rites established in Moravia, was likewise


preached in those parts of Poland, where it was at

the same time propagated from the adjacent

dominions of the Byzantian empire. This cir

cumstance naturally leads to the conclusion, that

the national, or Slavonian worship, was for some

time prevalent in a great part of Poland, before

it was overwhelmed by the growing influence of

pure Romanism. All the information we have on

this interesting subject is derived from RomanCatholic and ecclesiastical writers, and is, con

sequently, in general strongly biassed against

every thing which assumed a kind of oppositionto the uniform rule of the Papal sway. But,

however scanty and imperfect is the information

about this subject which we have been able to

collect from various sources, it is sufficient to

establish the fact, that the above-mentioned

national churches have during a long time

existed in Poland.

The chronicles positively state that in the

year 949, the Moravians founded at Kleparz, in

the environs of Cracow, the church of St. Cross,

and it is well known that they preserved at that Efforts of

time the liturgy in the national language. Queen

Hedvige ofAnjou (1399), whose piety, virtues, and

personal endowments have rendered her memoryan object of veneration to the Poles, was a great

guage-

promoter of the national liturgy. Amongst manypious and useful establishments, she founded the

Benedictine college of St.Cross, called Collegiumc 2

20 SKETCH OF THE

fratrum Slavonum, or college of the Slavonian

brethren.* In that college divine service was

performed in the vernacular tongue, as is evident

from the books of liturgy which were employed

there, and which are still extant;and our cele

brated historian Dlugosz, who lived in the latter

part of the fifteenth century, went often there

to enjoy the beautiful anthems chaunted in the

national language. The scriptures, at least a

great part of them, the lives of the fathers of

the church, the revelations of St. Bridget, some

homilies, and the productions of many other

sacred authors (plurimorum aliorum), were

translated for the use of that pious queen, whowas a diligent reader of those religious works.fThe preference of Queen Hedvige for the lan

guage of the country submitted to her rule is

the more remarkable, by her being born and

bred in Hungary till the age of fifteen. Her

father, Louis the great of Hungary, although he

was king of Poland during the term of twelve

years, visited that country only twice. Being

principally engaged in Italy by his wars with the

Venetians, and the affairs of the celebrated Joan

* It is impossible to ascertain whether this college was a

renovation of the Moravian church of the same name, or an

entirely new establishment. It may be that it received its

name in commemoration of the church of St. Cross, founded in

the tenth century, to which we have just alluded.

t Dlugosz, lib. x.


queen of Naples, who was married to his bro

ther Andrew, his court was rather Italianized,

and certainly the least Polish : still we see his

daughter displaying a fond attachment to all that

belonged to her adopted country. Her exemplary

piety was guided by her superior understanding,

and she easily preceived that religion cannot exert

its blessed influence over the minds of men,unless its august ceremonies are performed, and

its beneficial precepts proclaimed in a language

intelligible to the nation at large. Yet, however

her mind might have been enlightened, it is not

probable that she would have ventured on what

would be considered as a daring innovation, if

there was not sufficient precedent to justify

such proceedings in a queen, whose piety and

orthodoxy never were impugned. The learned

Siarczynski, one of our most eminent antiquarians, lic authors,J

.about the exis-

broadly asserts, that till the fourteenth century tence of the

national wor-

the worship in the national language was very ship in Poland.

common in Poland.* His deep research and

sound criticism render his evidence highly

credible, whilst his known character of a zealous

Roman Catholic priest raises this evidence above

every suspicion of partiality. The reverend Ju-

szynski, also a Roman Catholic clergyman, and

well known for his extraordinary erudition and

*Czasopism Lwowski (Chronicle of Lemberg), a literary

periodical, 1828.

22 SKETCH OF THE

acute criticism, entirely agrees with this opinion ;

he moreover adds on unquestionable authority,

that the reformers of the sixteenth century have

adopted for the use of their disciples many can

ticles of the ancient Polish national churches.

He likewise states that Martin Tromba, archbishop

of Gnezno, who took a prominent part at the

council of Constance, and who was a great advo

cate of the national worship, ordered the books

of liturgy to be translated into Polish. Copies of

that translation were preserved in the library

Zalusky, which has been carried away to Pe

tersburg after the fall of Poland in 1794. He

also assures us that before 1500 Polish breviaries

were frequently used.* We have quoted the

opinion of those two eminent writers, instead of

adducing proofs scattered amongst sundry chroni

cles, which would have been tedious and unin

teresting for the English reader. We might

likewise adduce the Polish canticle known under

the name of its author, Przeworczyk, composedabout 1430-40 ;

but it is very likely that the above-

mentioned book owes its origin to the Hussite

doctrines, which were at that time widely spread

in Poland. We will only add that Wapowski,an author of the sixteenth century, says : "the

national worship has been only recently lost

* Introduction to the Biographical Dictionary of Polish Poets,

in Polish.


amongst us, and it is an undoubted fact that it was

performed at least in one place as late as the

beginning of the sixteenth century.*

These churches preserving the worship in the influence of

these churches

vernacular language, niay be considered as so on the political

.

Jrelations of the

many strong-holds, behind which the national country and. . . . with Rome.

spirit was ensconced, not only against the conti

nual encroachments of Romanism, but also against

those of Germanism. The influence of Germany

invariably tending to the establishment of the

feudal system, was certainly no less destructive to

the national institutions of the Slavonians than

that of Rome, which constantly sought to mould

all nations into one uniform system of its eccle

siastical polity. It is undoubtedly owing to that

spirit that we see in Poland a constant opposition

to the unlimited supremacy of Rome. This op

position, excepting the peculiar case of some sects,

to be hereafter mentioned, was however limited

to the outward forms of worship, the church

discipline, as well as the immunities of the church,

and the supremacy which the clergy claimed to

maintain over the laity, whilst the incomprehensible mysteries of religion, and its abstruse

dogmas, were left untouched. It was a struggle

between the ecclesiastical and temporal powr

ers,

a contest between the Roman Catholic unity and

the national independence. This last was defended

* Vide note, p. 12.

24 SKETCH OF THE

Influence of

the GermanEmperors onPoland at thetime of the

baptism of its

duke Mie-

czysla\v.

not only by monarchs jealous ofa foreign authority

intermeddling with their own, but also by the

nobles, who eyed with suspicion the ascendancyof the clergy, considering it as a competition

dangerous to their own influence. But not only

the laity seems to have been animated by that

national spirit, we even see the clergy themselves,

though acknowledging the Pope as the head of

the Catholic church, still frequently opposing his

authority on many points, and particularly the

celibacy of the priests an ordinance to which the

clergy in Poland submitted with more reluctance

than in any other country. We shall now give

our readers a sketch of the struggle which, by

weakening the authority of Rome in our coun

try, powerfully contributed to the subsequent

progress of the reformation;and we begin by

briefly delineating the relations which existed in

Poland, between the ecclesiastical and temporal

powers, since the establishment of the Chris

tian religion to the reformation of the sixteenth

century.

If the baptism of Mieczyslaw, the first Chris

tian monarch of Poland, in 965, may be attributed

to worldly motives, we think that he was promptedto perform such an important act rather by poli

tical considerations than by his attachment to

the Bohemian princess Dombrovka, as it is

related by the chronicles. We know that he was

tributary for a part of his dominions, to the


Emperor Otton the first,* to ensure whose friend

ship he might have been easily induced to em

brace the Christian religion. It was probably

owing to that circumstance that Christianity, ac

cording to the Roman rites observed in Germany

and not according to the national liturgy prac

tised in Moravia, was established as the dominant

religion in Poland.

The conversion of the Polish idolaters was Resistance of

the Polish ido-

however not an easy task. According to our laterstothe

-,.

-,establishment

historian Dlugosz, the people were exceedingly Of Christianity.

reluctant to part with their idols, which

*Although many of our historians endeavour to prove that

the Polish dukes did never acknowledge the supremacy of the

Romane mperors, we are obliged to dissent from their opinion

on this subject, as the contemporary writer Dittmar of Merse-

burg positively states that Mieczyslaw paid homage to the Em

peror Otton III. at Quedlinburg in984<;

besides the fact that

he sent a contingent of Polish troops to join the Imperial armies.

This matter has been thoroughly investigated in Frieses

Kirchen-geschichte von Poland, vol. i. We think that it is a

very mistaken idea of patriotism, to endeavour to conceal

or to explain away facts broadly stated by credible annalists ;

and we have always, in the course of this work, adhered to

what we have believed to be true, even when those truths

were most unpalatable to our Polish feelings. The vassalage

of the Polish sovereigns to the Emperors was, however, of a

very short duration, and of the same nature as that which

bound the English monarchs to the kings of France for their

possessions in that country. It ceased under the reign of Bole-

slav, the first king of Poland (9921025).

26 SKETCH OF THE

Mieczyslaw, after his conversion, ordered to be

destroyed throughout his dominions.*

The same author says, that in the year 980,

fifteen years after the conversion of Mieczyslaw,

half of Poland still adhered to its ancient idola

try. It was in the reign of this monarch that

the first bishopric in Poland, Poznania, was

erected, and subject to the archiepiscopal see of

Mayence, but afterwards transferred to the juris

diction of the archbishop of Magdebourg. Mie

czyslaw was succeeded in the year 972 by his

son Boleslav the first, surnamed the brave, who

was even more zealous than his father in extirpat

ing the remains of paganism. The means which

he employed for that purpose were more in unison

with the barbarity of that age, than congenial to

the spirit of the Gospel. The reign of that monarch was illustrated by many victories : but these

belong to the political history of our country ,

and we must limit our narration to such facts as

*"Ingemescentibus et illachrymantibus," says Dlugosz, speak

ing of the common people; but opposition was also experienced

from the higher classes:"plures

Polonorum proceres in suscipienda

Jide Christiana, dissentientes graviter adversabantur, dicentes non

esse bonum postponere commoda pdternarum traditionum ; novce

sectce, adhuc insolitaz, liberacolla submittere" Dlugosz lib. ii.

The last words ofthis passage seem to imply, that the opposition

which the establishment of the Roman Catholic church met in

Poland, originated not only from religious, but also from political

motives.


have an immediate connexion with our present

subject. We shall only add, that Boleslav united

under his domination the south-western part of his dominionsa part of grand

Poland, which had formed successively a part of Morat^whewthe national

grand Moravia and Bohemia, and where, as we worship wasestablished by

have already said, Christianity, with a national Cyriiius andJ

Methodius.

liturgy and the rites of the oriental church, was

introduced by Methodius and Cyrill. This cir

cumstance has naturally led to the spread of the

above-mentioned liturgy and rites in other parts

of Poland, where undoubtedly many missionaries

from Moravia and Bohemia were employed, on

account of their knowledge ofthe national tongue,

in converting the idolaters. The influence of the influence

Moravian church, which followed the Greek

ritual, has left several traces in Poland, of which

the most important is, that fasts according to thecents"? the"

precepts of the Eastern church were observed in ^^l

observ.

Poland as late as the year 1248, when their ed byuthe

rR - c -

J church of Po-

severity was mitigated by Rome.* land -

About the year 1000, Emperor Otton the third ^g;^came to Poland, on a pilgrimage to the shrine

,

arriyes * p -

land, confers on

of Saint Adalbert at Gniesno, then the capital of Boiesiav the

first, duke of

Poland : a pilgrimage, the object of which was no Poland, the

royal dignity,as well as all

the rights pos-*

Lcgatus Jacobus Leodicensis Archidiaconus convocata Wra- sessed by the

tislaviam Synodo Episcoporum, relaxavit tune Polonis ct Silcsiis

partem jejunii, quod est solenne ante Pascha, nam cum id tolls matters

novem hebdomadis a Dominica ex ritu Grcecorum, vulgo servarent

in, dulsit ut jejunii more Romano dcinceps pcrageretur, anno

1248. Hardouin apud Somersberg, ii. 253.

28 SKETCH OF THE

less political than devotional. Boleslav received

his illustrious guest with great pomp and ho

nours.*

The emperor repaid Boleslav s hospitality by

investing him with the royal dignity, and by con

ferring upon him at the same time the power of

exerting, not only in Poland but also in the

pagan countries which he had either already

conquered or might hereafter conquer, all the

rights which belonged to the emperors in eccle

siastical matters. From this we may infer that

the above-mentioned rights, if not actually exert

ed by the emperors in Poland, were at least

claimed by them.

This celebrated interview with the emperor is

an important circumstance, as it must have con

tributed to the oppression of the national liturgy,

by increasing the preponderance of Romanism,

supported by Germany. Numbers of monks,

blindly devoted to Rome, flocked under this reignunfavourable to Poland from the western part of Europe, andeffects of this

circumstance it appears that the monasteries were at that timeon the national ,

i i i j i cchurches. almost exclusively peopled by foreigners, who

being naturally adverse to all that was national

and local, strove to extirpate the liturgy in the

vernacular tongue, which they did not understand,

* Dittmar of Merseburg, who accompanied the emperor on

his pilgrimage, gives a detailed description of the reception

which he met from Boleslav> and which was very splendid.


and called a barbarian language. Boleslav conti

nued his severe measures against the opponents of

the Christian religion, and they produced violent

commotions, which he succeeded however in quel

ling. After his death, in the year 1025, his son,

Mieczyslaw the second, being entirely governed

by his queen Rixa, a niece to the Emperor Otton

the third, rendered himself particularly obnoxious

to his subjects. His reign was agitated by con

stant revolts, and it seems that the prevalent

cause of discontent was the tithes which the

clergy exacted from the new Christians. After

his death, in 1034, his widow Rixa assumed the

regency during the minority of her son Casimir the

first. She had been always very unpopular, and

under her regency the discontent rose to such a

degree, that she was compelled to leave Poland,

and to retire with her son to Germany. The re- Pagan reaction

during the mi-

volted party abolished Christianity and royalty, nority of casi-

, . , mir the first.

and having re-established paganism, proclaimed

Maslav, the leader of the revolt, ruler of the coun

try, but without a royal or even ducal title. This

event may perhaps be considered not only as the

last struggle of idolatry against Christianity, but

also as a contest of the spirit of popular or re

publican assemblies, which governed the ancient

Slavonians, against the monarchical form, which

seems to be of a more recent date, and introduced

into Poland from Germany. The clergy were

detested, particularly on account of being chiefly,

30 SKETCH OF THE

It is sup

pressed, and

paganism dis

appears fromPoland.

Quarrel be

tween king Bo-leslav the

Dauntless andStanislav

Szczepanovvski

bishop of Cra-

as we have already said, foreigners, and their

morals, according to contemporary writers, were

in a very low state. The country continued many

years in a very distracted condition, till the na

tion being wearied of anarchy, and the Christian

party having regained the ascendancy, youngCasimir was recalled to the throne, and received

with great joy. He justified the expectation of

his subjects, and his wisdom soon re-established

order in the country, and healed the wounds in

flicted by long troubles. With the death of his

opponent Maslav, who was taken and executed,

the pagan party disappeared for ever from

Poland.

We now arrive at one of the most importantevents that have occurred in the early part of the

history of Poland, the quarrel between Boleslav

the second, surnamed the Dauntless, and the

bishop ofCracow, Stanislav Szczepanowski. This

memorable event, which ended with the death of

Szczepanowski in the year 1078, is related by

Dlugosz, the most reputed of our early historians,

as having taken place under the following cir

cumstances :"

King Boleslav the Dauntless, elat

ed by constant success and corrupted by his

long residence at Kiiov, then capital of Russia,

celebrated for its riches and the refined luxuries

of Byzantium, became overbearing, violent, and

dissolute in his manners. Stanislav Szczepa

nowski, bishop of Cracow, boldly reprimanded


the disorderly conduct of the sovereign, who, in

censed at the prelate s manly behaviour, murdered

him with his own hands at the foot of the altar.

Pope Gregorius the Seventh excommunicated the

sacrilegious monarch, who was obliged to leave

his throne and his country, and died an exile in

Hungary." This is the substance of an account

which was repeated by all other historians, Polish

as well as foreign.* However, the acute criticism

of some modern writers has thrown on that im

portant subject quite a different light from that

in which it had hitherto been represented. There

is certainly no doubt that the bishop was depriv

ed of life, and the king compelled to leave his

throne and dominions, but the circumstances

under which those important historical facts were

accomplished seem to have been quite different

from those which had obtained general credence.

We may consider the quarrel between Boleslav Reasons toJ

mbelieve that it

the Dauntless and Stanislav Szczepanowski as was originatedfrom other mo-

a contest between the temporal and spiritual tives than those

... . .to which it has

powers, which then agitated many parts of been generally

Europe. It must be remarked that the Polish

monarchs derived the royal dignity from the

Emperors, and not from the Popes, who were

* This account is so universally received that we thought

ourselves obliged to follow it in the historical introduction

which we have prefixed to our translation of the Court of

Sigismund Augustus, or Poland in the sixteenth century.

32 SKETCH OF THE

reluctant to acknowledge that title.* We maytherefore easily suppose that, during the dis

putes which existed between the Popes and the

Emperors, the kings of Poland embraced the part

of the latter, from whom they also derived the

right of distributing ecclesiastical preferment in

their dominions. Boleslav was jealous of the

rights of his nation as well as of those of his crown.

He prohibited the bestowment of church pre

ferment on foreigners, who at that time almost

entirely engrossed the ecclesiastical benefices;and

he imposed on the estates of the clergy the same

duties and services as on those of his other sub

jects. The first of these measures necessarily

offended the court of Rome, always eager to feed

its creatures with rich benefices in every country

subject to its spiritual dominion. The second of

these regulations, entrenching on the material

interests of the clergy, was still more calculated

to render the king odious to that formidable body.

However, Boleslav s power was such that the

clergy submitted to those ordinances : but an op

position was soon raised, not only by the clergybut also by the principal nobles, against the monarch, who, as it seems, was not only anxious to

repress the encroachments of the clergy, but also

* There are no traces that the Popes had given, at that time,

the royal title to the sovereigns of Poland. Gregory the se

venth calls (1075) Boleslav the Dauntless only Duke of Poland.


to check the pretensions of an aristocracy which,

growing on the ruin of the ancient popular insti

tutions ofthe Slavonians, was weakening the unity

of the sovereign s power. Szczepanowski seems to

have been the head, the personification ofthat party,in defending which he paid the forfeit of his life.

There is sufficient reason to believe that the

death of Szczepanowski was the consequence of

a judicial decree. The circumstance of his head

being chopped off after his death, and his bodycut into pieces, seems to imply that he was con

demned to a punishment not uncommon in that

barbarous age, and executed according to that

decree, instead of being the victim of a sudden

ebullition of royal anger. The evidence of the

early chronicles respecting that memorable trans

action is very unsatisfactory. That ofMartin Gal-

lus, in whose time the event was quite recent, is byno means favourable to the Bishop;* and the re

lation of Kadlubek, who wrote in the thirteenth

century, seems to have been added in more modern

times.t Dlugosz, who considers Szczepanowski as

* Non debuit Christianus in Christlanum peccatum quod libct

corporaliter mndicare : pro traditione pontificem truncatione mem-

brarum adhibuit. Ncque traditorem Episcopum excusamus. Sed

hcec inmcedio deseramus. Mart. Gallus, cap. 27. We think that

the guilt of Szczepanowski is clearly established by this pasageof an almost contemporary writer, who considers him not as a

martyr, but who, being a clergyman, reluctantly touches that

important event.

f Sarnicki, an author of the sixteenth century, speaking of

VOL. I. D Szczepanowski s

34 SKETCH OF THE

a saint and a martyr, quotes many accusations bywhich Boleslav endeavoured to justify his act.

The same author reports, with pious indignation,

that very many supposed at that time the bishop

to be a traitor and a profligate, who was deserv

edly punished for his crimes.* This last circum

stance proves at least that the King was supported

by a strong party amongst the nation disbelieving

the righteousness of Stanislav Szczepanowski, who

received the honours of canonization a long time

after his death,f Boleslav was compelled to

leave his throne and his country, and retired into

Hungary with his infant son Mieczyslaw ;but we

think that it was the united influence of the

aristocracy and the clergy which drove him

from Poland, and not the excommunication of

Gregory the Seventh, which seems to have never

Szczepanowski s death, says;"

factum adhuc recens non scrip-

serit Kadlubek nee ullam mentionem hujus reifecerit."

It is

therefore evident that the relation of the above-mentioned oc

currence, which is found in Kadlubek s chronicle, has been

added in times posterior to those of Sarnicki.

* Pro occasione unius dementis et temerarii Episcopi, culpa sua

necati. The pious Dlugosz relates with a perfect horror those

popular rumours about his saint, adding some appellations bywhich he was designated, but which are of too gross a nature

to be quoted without necessity.

f Stanislav Szczepanowski was canonized 1254 ; but it was

only about the end of the sixteenth century that Sigismund the

Third, king of Poland, obtained for him the honours of a uni

versal worship.


taken place, as there is no bull to that purposein the collections of Papal decrees. We think

that if such an important fact, and a precedentso favourable to the supremacy which the Romansee claimed over the monarchs of Christendom,had really occurred, it is quite improbable that it

should be omitted in the Papal records.* Wehave perhaps expatiated too long on this event,

which bears so strong a resemblance to the

history of Thomas a Becket. We have done so

because we consider this transaction not as a

fortuitous occurrence produced by the violence of

passion, but as the result of a struggle between

the national party, remembering still the ancient

liberties of the Slavonians, and the new but grow

ing influence of the aristocracy united with that

of the Roman church. This influence must have

been already very strong, if it could obtain such

a triumph over a monarch who had acquired great

glory by his warlike achievements, and whoseems to have been popular with the inferior

classes of the nation. The part which the aristo

cracy took in the deposition of Boleslav is suffi

ciently evident from the fear they entertained

of his son Mieczyslaw. This prince, who is

described as the idol of the common people, com

pelled his uncle, Vladislav Herman, to divide

* This is not to be found either in Baronius s Ecclesiastical

Annals, or in Coquelini s Bullarium.

D 2

36 SKETCH OF THE

with him the sovereign authority; but the youthful

son of Boleslav the Dauntless was soon poisoned

by some grandees, who were afraid he might seek

to avenge the wrongs of his father.*

The abrogation of several enactments of Boles-

lav the Dauntless by his brother, \ as well as

the modification which the constitution under

went under the reign of Vladislav Herman, give

an additional proof of what we have advanced

about the hostility of the aristocracy against

Boleslav.\

Consequences The ascendancv of the clergy was establishedof Boleslav s

*

expulsion from by the expulsion of Boleslav the Dauntless. ThePoland. reign of his brother, Vladislav Herman, being the

consequence of the triumph which the church

* The almost contemporary Martin Gallus describes the

death of the young Mieczyslaw, or Mieshko, in the following

affecting words : "Emulos, timentes ne patris injuriam vindicaret

veneno puerum peremisse. Mortuo Mescone iota Polonia lugebat.

Rustici aratra, pastores pecora deserebant ; artifices studia, ope-

ratores opera postponebant, servi insuper et ancillce. Nullvus regis

vel prmcipis exitmm tarn diuturno mcerore conclamatum" This,

we think, sufficiently proves that the memory of Boleslav the

Dauntless was popular amongst the lower classes, who lamented

the death of the young Mieczyslaw, whom they expected to

become the avenger not only of the wrongs of his father, but

also of their own.

f Nonnulafratris sui decreta retractans et ad melioremformamreducens. Dlugosz, ad annum 1082.

J Prelati et Barones Polonies formando novum datum reipub-

licce. Math, de Miechow, cap. 3.


had gained over the state, could not be but favour

able to the increase of sacerdotal influence.

Vladislav was succeeded by his son Boleslav the

Third, orWrymouth, a monarch celebrated for his

victories, and for the conquest and conversion of

Pomerania, which he had accomplished. His

reign seems to have been favourable to the clergy ;

at least, he always kept on good terms with that

powerful body. The example of his uncle Boleslav the Dauntless was too recent, and by no

means inviting, to be imitated. This sovereign, Division of

who died in the year 1139, completely marred

the effects of a long and prosperous reign by Bofesiav the

dividing his dominions between his four sons.

Internal wars, foreign invasion, and a general

relaxation of order, were the deplorable but natu

ral consequences of such an impolitic measure.

This state of things, which lasted nearly duringtwo centuries, was exceedingly favourable to the

increase of ecclesiastical power. The sovereign

authority, divided between many rulers, and wea

kened by their constant dissensions, was conti

nually declining, whilst the clergy, united into one

community, promoted their interests with that

uniformity of design with which every corporate

body is generally tending towards the attainment

of the same object. Many princes who reigned

during that troubled period sought to fortify their

authority by the influence of the church. It fre

quently proved a powerful assistance, but it was

38 SKETCH OF THE

always purchased, either by rich donations or bythe concession of new privileges and immunities.

Yet, notwithstanding all those advantages, the

authority of the clergy, which swayed during that

period all western Europe, seems to have been

very precarious in Poland, where it frequently

wanted sufficient power to crush the opposition

of the petty sovereigns who ruled several prin

cipalities of that country.

Synod of The synod which was convened at Lenczyca,

in the year 1180, is the first assembly of that

kind in Poland. However, being composednot only of ecclesiastical dignitaries, but also of

princes, and other temporal lords, it may be con

sidered rather as a national diet than an ecclesi

astical convocation. Its chief enactment was,

that the sovereign princes should abstain, under

penalty of excommunication, from appropriating

to themselves the goods and chattels of deceased

bishops.viadisiav However, in spite of that solemnly recognisedSpiridleshanks, . .

duke of era- privilege, Vladislav Laskonogi, or Spindleshanks,cow, claims the

inheritance of duke of Cracow, 1212-18, seized the property of

bishops. the bishops of Cracow and of Breslau after the

death of those prelates. Henry archbishop of

Gniezno, as head of the Polish church, excommunicated the duke for committing sacrilege. But

this excommunication, instead of humbling the

refractory prince, incited him only to a bolder

opposition : he abrogated in his dominions all


the privileges of the clergy, took to himself the He, ? .c%/

in his domi-

distribution of church preferment, and abolished <>ns thre "

r . . vileges of tlv.

the ecclesiastical jurisdiction, declaring the priests dgjr,nd *.

. jects them to

amenable to the ordinary tribunals, and liable to the civil

the same penalties with the rest of his subjects.

Pope Innocent the Third authorized the arch

bishop to proclaim a general interdict, should

Vladislav persist in his violent proceedings.

Philip bishop of Poznania refused to proclaimin his diocese the above-mentioned interdict, and

was instantly deposed by the Pope. But Vladis

lav, contemning the censures of Rome, ejected

from his see bishop Paul, whom the Pope had

nominated in lieu of the deposed Philip, and

increased his severity against those of the clergy

who resisted his ordinances. The Pope nomi

nated the bishop of Halberstadt and the abbot

of the Cistercian monastery de Sychem his com

missioners to judge Vladislav, and, in case the

duke should despise their decree, to confirm the

solemn excommunication proclaimed against him

by the archbishop of Gniezno. Vladislav eluded

the jurisdiction of those commissioners by appeal

ing to the Pope. The archbishop of Gniezno went

himself to Rome in order to further the cause of

his clergy. He was invested by the Pope with

new honours : but all his efforts to abolish the

severe enactments of the duke proved unavailing.

The clergy felt their weakness, and were obliged

to arrange their differences with the sovereign

40 SKETCH OF THE

The clergy through the means of a voluntary agreement, bvare obliged to

. .

submit to iiim. which the ducal treasury became entitled to inhe

rit all gold, silver, and every kind of costly fur

niture left by the bishops dying intestate.

The church The clergy, however, soon resumed their supre-

under niacy. Vladislav Odonicz, duke of Grand- Poland,

- conceded (1222) to Henry archbishop of Gniezno,

j^ Wh se assistance he mounted on the ducal

throne, an immunity of taxation for all the church

property, and a total exemption of the secular

jurisdiction to the clergy. Boleslav Pudicus,

duke of Cracow, not only confirmed all those

immunities (1279), but augmented them by inves

ting the bishops with the privilege of exercisingin their estates all the rights belonging to a

sovereign.

about tithes. The collection of tithes gave rise also to many-

quarrels between the laity and clergy in Poland.

Boleslav the Bald, duke of Silesia, desired (1258),

that the tenth sheaf of corn collected by the

clergy should be commuted to a pecuniary com

pensation. But the clergy, who derived more

advantage from collecting the tithes in kind than

they could draw from a payment in money, re

fused the proposed commutation, and insisted on

receiving the tithes in kind, which they claimed

as their sacred and inviolable right. The duke,irritated by the refusal of Thomas bishop of

Breslau to accede to his wishes, imprisoned the

prelate with one of his canons, and loaded them

REFORMATION IN POLAND. 4l

with chains. Fulk archbishop of Gniezno ex

communicated Boleslav; but the duke despised

his censures. The Pope ordered the archbishops

of Gniezno and Magdeburg to preach a crusade

against the refractory prince, but the holy war

evaporated in hymns chaunted in different

churches against the excommunicated duke.

The bishop of Breslau, despairing to be released

from his confinement by the champions of the

church, purchased his liberty by paying to Boles-

lav two thousand marks of silver, and by consent

ing to the proposed adjustment of tithes. The

example of such a successful opposition to the

clergy was imitated by the dukes of Cracow and

Mazovia, who enforced in their states a similar

commutation of tithes. Henry the second dukeof Silesia, and son of Boleslav the Bald, inherited

his father s jealousy against the clergy. The

bishop of Boleslav, unable to resist his sovereign,called for the assistance of the archbishop of

Gniezno, who excommunicated duke Henry.The claims which the bishop urged against the

prince must have been at least considered as

doubtful, because the Franciscans of Breslau

refused to acknowledge the validity of the anathema. Encouraged by such a division amongstthe clergy themselves, Henry banished from the

city all the priests that were opposed to him.

The menaces of the Pope remained fruitless;the

duke appealed to the council of Lyons, and an

42 SKETCH OF THE

absolution was granted to him. This absolution*

however, was not purchased by any concession on

the part of the duke. After an exile of five years,

the bishop reconciled his sovereign by consenting

that the clergy of his diocese should pay a certain

contribution to the ducal treasury.*

These conflicts between the clerical and secular

powers which we have described, and which often

ended in the triumph of the temporal authority,

prove the feeble hold which the Papal sway had

in Poland on the minds of the people ; and,

indeed, it is almost impossible to admit that

sovereigns, who governed only parts of the country,

should venture on entering so dangerous a

contest without being supported by the general

opinion of their subjects. The thunders of the

Vatican, which shook to the very foundation the

thrones of western Europe, fell harmless to the

Reasons why ground in Poland, the inhabitants of which

to theauthority seemed to care very little about the ecclesiastical

churchWM censures. This may be accounted for in a satis-

poamTthan in factory manner only by the spirit of independence,

and opposition to an unconditional submission todomination.

the authorjty of Rome , fostered by the national

churches, the existence of which we have amplydescribed. The worship in the vernacular tonguewas at that time still very common in our country,

* Vide Naruszewicz s History of Poland, vol. v. Math, de

Miechow, 1. iii. Bzovius, ad annum 1258.


and naturally popular with the bulk of the nation,

who certainly preferred a language with they

understood, to the empty sounds of a tongueunknown to them. The lower clergy, of whom

many adhered to the above-mentioned mode of

worship, seem not to have been very eager in

supporting the cause of Rome, to which the

higher dignitaries of the church were entirely

devoted. It appears that neither unbelief nor anynew doctrine in matters of faith was amongst the

causes of those frequent contests between the laity

and clergy, because the opposition carried against

the church was entirely confined to matters of

worldly interest;and we do not see any complaint

that the tenets of the church were impugned or

despised by those sovereigns who boldly attacked

the temporal interests of the clergy. The religious

sects which appeared in Poland previously to

the reformation of Huss, and of which we shall

hereafter speak, were not peculiar to that country,

and there are no traces of their exerting any in

fluence over the rulers of the land, or even on the

great mass of its inhabitants.

We must, however, not omit an important cir

cumstance which very likely contributed to raise

throughout the country a strong feeling against

Rome. In the thirteenth century the knights of St.

John were called by Conrad duke of Mazovia, in

order to assist him against the idolaters of Prussia,

and endowed by the same prince with extensive pos-

44 SKETCH OF THE

sessions. Those warrior-monks having conquered

Prussia, and reduced its inhabitants to a state of

the most oppressive bondage, commenced making-

continual encroachments on the frontiers of

Poland, and became its most formidable enemies.

The universal hatred which those soldier-priests

and professed defenders of the Papal authority

inspired to the Poles reflected on the clergy

in general, and this may be one of the leading

causes of that jealousy against the ecclesiastical

order which the nobility of Poland so strongly

manifested in the fourteenth century. Under

the reign of Casimir the Great (1333-1370), the

nobility, or, as it was called in Poland, the equestrian order, raised a violent outcry against the

clergy. They complained that the tithes were

exorbitant; that the bishops diverted the annates

for their own use; and desired that the overgrownextent of the ecclesiastical jurisdiction should be

curtailed. The clergy on their side were no less

loud in inveighing against the equestrian order,

whom they accused of wantonly withholding the

payment of tithes, as wellas ofanimpious contemptof ecclesiastical censures. It is natural to suppose

that, in such troubled times as the fourteenth

century was, both parties were not guiltless of the

offences which each of them reciprocally imputedto the other. The wisdom and firmness of

Casimir the Great succeeded in arranging those

differences, by correcting many abuses on both


sides; but his measures suspended only the mutual

jealousies. The statute of Casimir enacted, that,

if a land-owner did not ask in the course of a

year to be released from the anathema, his serfs

were at liberty to leave his dominions and becomefree. Casimir is celebrated for his solicitude about

the welfare of the agricultural class, by which he

merited the honourable surname of the peasants

king. It was that solicitude, and not any parti

ality to the clergy, which induced him to enact the

above-mentioned law, because we see him com

mitting even an act of great barbarity in defendinghis rights against the clergy. Having imposeda tax on the property of the bishop of Cracow,Casimir was excommunicated; but the clergymanwho ventured to notify the anathema to the king-

was seized and drowned. This act of violence

produced no consequence whatever, and it is

probable that the clergy, feeling that they were

too weak to quarrel with a monarch popular with

his subjects, hushed up the affair.* Under the

reign of Casimir s successor, Lewis of Anjou, kingof Hungary (1370-82,) those differences assumed

a more fierce character, and the equestrian order,

who acquired during that reign extensive pri

vileges, declared the immunities, which Boleslav

*Sarnicki, who relates that occurrence, remarks, in speaking

of the clergyman s death: " Minim est quod in album martyrorumnon est relatus."

46 SKETCH OF THE

Pudicus had granted to the clergy in the year

1279, null and void.

Disputes be- There are sufficient grounds for believing thattween the

. .

Popes and the since the earliest period of history the monarchskings of Polandabout the right of Poland exercised the right of nominating the

bishops, which bishops. We have seen that the emperor Otton

piete triumph the Third conferred upon Boleslav the First all the

rights belonging to the emperors in ecclesiastical

matters. The most important of those imperial

rights was certainly the nomination of the bishops,

and it was naturally included amongst those with

which Boleslav became invested by the emperor.

We have seen that Boleslav the Dauntless prohi

bited the bestowment of ecclesiastical benefices

upon foreigners. This ordinance, which was car

ried into effect without opposition, proves that the

interference of the monarch in the distribution

of church preferment was nothing extraordinary ;

the Popes naturally opposed the sovereign s right

of nominating the bishops, and the Roman legate

deposed in Poland (1104) two bishops, as beingnominated by the king without the consent of

the Pope.* Pope Paschal the second complains, in

a letter to Martinus archbishop of Gniezno, 1101,

that the kings of Poland wantonly transferred the

bishops from one diocese to another.^ Boleslav

* " Nulla summi pontificis authoritate," says Baronius.

f Quid super translationibus loquar, quce apud vos, non au

thoritate


Crispus duke of Grand Poland nominated, in the

year 1170, Lupus bishop of Plock;and we see

no trace that this nomination was opposed. PopeBoniface nominated (1391) bishop of Plock an Ita

lian named Manfeali. But the Papal nominee had

not even seen his diocese, being opposed by the so

vereign, the equestrian, and even the ecclesiastical

order.* The Jaguellonian dynasty, which mount

ed on the throne of Poland in the latter part of

the fourteenth century, was by no means inclined to

favour the pretensions of Rome. ] The Hussite doc

trines, which widely circulated in Poland duringthe fifteenth century, rendered the Papal authority

almost powerless. A remarkable proof of the

contempt into which the power of Rome had

fallen in our country during that period, is exhi

bited by the following important circumstance :

In the year 1460 king Casimir the Third conferred

the bishopric of Cracow upon a Gruszczynski,

which the Pope had previously given to aSieninski

thorilate Apostolica, sed nutu regis prcesumuntur. Naruszewicz,

lib. iv.

* Adversantibus ducibus sacro et equestri ordine. Kromer,

lib. xv.

f Martin V. complains (1427 and 1429) to king Vladislaw

Jaguellon about the violation of ecclesiastical immunities,

contempt of the spiritual jurisdiction, and of the rights of the

Roman see ; representing to the monarch that the Popes alone

should nominate the Bishops. Vide Raynaldus, ad annum 1429.

48 SKETCH OF THE

This gave rise to a violent dispute about the

pre-eminence of the royal authority, and the

infallibility of the Pope. The king prohibited

the proclamation of the Breves and the excom

munications issued on that occasion by the Pope,

appealed from his judgment to a future council,

and outlawed the Papal nominee Sieninski. The

dean, the prebendary, and some canons of Cracow,

who had violently taken the part of the Pope,were ordered by the king to be conducted out

of town by public executioners. Casimir likewise

ordered the suspension of the ecclesiastical tribu

nals;and when some clergymen ventured, in

spite of the royal prohibition, to open a spiritual

court, they were publicly driven out of Cracow.

The bishop of Creta, legate of the Pope, admonished the king to reinstate Sieninski in the

episcopal see of Cracow : but the king answered," I would rather lose my kingdom."

"

It would

be better that three kingdoms had perished, than

a single word of the Pope should be brought to

nought," was the haughty retort of the bishop.

The monarch did not deign to reply to the prelate,

but he persisted in his resolution, and the words

of the Pope and his legate were brought to

nought.* At the diet of Piotrkow( 1462) an address

* Sarnicki relates that Casimir the Third, being irritated

against Rome, ordered that every one might resist the eccle

siastical decrees, and appeal from them to a future council.


was got up, requesting the king that he should

not infringe the authority of the Pope ; but

Casimir replied that he would never permit

any body to impose bishops on his kingdom.One of our best historians, who wrote in the

sixteenth century, concludes, in reporting the

above-mentioned transaction, with the following

simple phrase, "and since that time the kingchooses the

bishops."* This testimony is suf

ficient to prove that Casimir s example becamea precedent, which was strictly adhered to byhis successors. We have, besides, sufficient his

torical evidence to prove how tenacious the monarch s of Poland were of the above-mentioned

right. A remarkable instance of the jealousywith which they opposed every encroachment on

that right occurs in the beginning of the sixteenth

century, under the reign of Sigismund the First.

The Pope having assumed to create by himself a

bishop of Plock, the king instantly rejected the

papal nominee, declaring" that he never will

permit to any one to infringe the laws of the

country and to nominate the senators of the

realm." When Pope Adrian the Sixth delayed to

confirm Leszczynski, whom the king had nomi

nated bishop of Poznania, he notified to the

pontiff, that his obstinacy in withholding justice

may be productive of consequences disagreeable

*Bielski, anno 1463.

E

50 SKETCH OF THE

to the holy father and to the apostolical see. The

Pope prudently gave way ;and indeed a farther

resistance on his part would have been not only

useless, but even dangerous, in a time when the

Protestant doctrines were rapidly spreading over

Poland.

We have now given our readers such details

as we have been able to collect, about the rela

tions which existed in Poland between church

and state, or laity and clergy. We should be

glad to have it in our power to convey to them

some information respecting the internal state of

the church in Poland and its relations with Rome,but the sources of such information are very scan

ty, and the ecclesiastical writers, almost the only

authority whence we may derive some know-

ledge about that subject, are generally devoted to

the papal interest. They report the several con-

reiatione with flicts which had taken place between the laity

that

mperiod

mme an(l dergy as examples of impiety, carefully to be

knwvn.tle

avoided by the faithful : but to mention instances

of the clergy themselves opposing the uncondi

tional supremacy of Rome, would have been to

propagate examples of great scandal, and fraught

with dangerous consequences. The Protestant

authors of the sixteenth century, who have writ

ten under the influence of polemical excitement,

have been perhaps too prone to exaggerate every

circumstance which could corroborate their ownviews. At all events, wre dare not rely on their

The internal

clergy in PO-


sole evidence, lest we may incur the reproachof partiality to writers professing our own creed.

There are, however, some traces in the papal wri

ters that the Polish church previously to 1100

maintained a state of independence from the Roman see.*

The papal ordinance which seems to have met Marriage of

with a more than common resistance from theJ

Polish clergy is that which imposed celibacy on

the priests. This was undoubtedly owing to the

influence exercised by the national worship, be

cause the churches established by Cyrillus and

Methodius, as well as by their followers, adhered

to the discipline of the Eastern church, which not

only allows matrimony to its ministers, but im

poses it on them.

It is well known that the final prohibition of

marriage to the clergy was made by Gregorius the

Seventh. We have, however, sufficient historical

evidence that about 1120 all the priests of the

diocese of Breslati were married. Sarnicki posi-

* Paschal the Second, in addressing the Polish clergy, in

the person of the archbishop, says :"

Significasti Regem el regni

majores admiratione permotos quod pallium tibi tali conditione

oblatumfuerit si sacramentum jurares." The answer of the Polish

clergy was :c>Omnejusjurandum a Ckristo Deo in evangelio esse

prohibitum, nee ab ipsis Aposiolis^ ncc in conciliis inveniri posse

slatutum." Hardouin. vi. 2. Gregorius the Seventh, in his letter

to Boleslav the Dauntless, king of Poland (1075), says :"Epis-

copi terra: vestrce ultra regulas sunt liberi et absoluti."

E 2

52 SKETCH OF THE

lively states that, about the middle of the twelfth

century, the Polish clergy were generally married.*

The evidence of Sarnicki, who was a Protestant,

may be perhaps objected to; but Dlugosz, a zea

lous Romanist, positively states that marriage was

common amongst the clergy in Poland at the end

of the twelfth century.t The synods of Cracow

and Lubusz, convoked by the influence of the

Cardinal Peter of Capua, legate of Celestin the

Third, who arrived in Poland at the end of the

twelfth century, ordered the clergy to abandon

their concubines and lawful wives, and severe

penalties were denounced against the refractory

priests.]; However, it is evident that these me

naces did not produce the desired effect, because

the synod of Gniezno, assembled in 1219, com

plains that the former regulations prohibiting the

clerical marriage, and namely those of the Car

dinal Peter of Capua, proved unavailing. Thesame synod decreed that the priests should swear

* Sarnicki Historia, v. i, 12.

t "

Complures ea tempestate (1197) sacerdotes uxoribus velut

jure legitimo utebantur." Dlugosz, ad ann. 1197.

J Dlugosz, after having described the regulations against the

marriage of the clergy made through the influence of Cardinal

Peter, adds : "Laicis vero quacumque excellentia pollentibus con-

nubia sua infacie ecclesice instituit." These words seem to implythat many persons had formerly been in the habit of contracting

marriages without the sanction of the Roman Catholic church.

Are not the followers of the national worship meant by this ?


to abandon their concubines and lawful wives.

It is remarkable that the synod of Piotrkow (1577)

complains that clergymen of an unsuspected or

thodoxy obstinately defended the marriage of the

priests.*

There are sufficient grounds to believe that, Religious

_. . _ sects. Waklen-as early as the year 1176, the disciples of Peter

Valdo, persecuted in the west of Europe, trans

ferred their doctrines to Bohemia.t Our his

torian Wengierski, who wrote at the beginningof the seventeenth century, and who possessed

many historical documents which afterwards were

destroyed by time, accident, or the fanaticism of

the Roman Catholic clergy, positively asserts that

the Valdenses spread their dogmas amongst the

inhabitants of Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, and

Poland.| According to the same historian, those

* Quoniam nonnuli ex sacerdotibus qui in cateris catholicos

se cssc prqfitenlur, co audatice ac dcmcnticc progrcdiuntur, ut sibi

uxores ducere licite existiment et defacto nuptias celebrant. Acta

Synod Petrfcov 1577, March 19.

f Stranski apud 1 Enfant s Concile de Constance.

$ In his Slavonia Reformata, Amstelodami 1679. Illiricus Flac-

cus, in his Catalogns Testium Veritatis, says: "parsValdensium

in Germaniam transiit atquc apud Bohemos, in Potonia ac Livo

nia larcmjixil" Leger, in his Histoire Generate des Eglises

evangeliques de Vallees du Piemont ou Vaudois, 1669, quotes

(vol. ii. page 332), the following words of d Aubigne : "Lcs

constantes morts de ces pauvrcs persecutes, donnerent vie a cette

religion

54 SKETCH OF Til?:

early reformers had established a settlement in the

vicinity of Cracow;and that, as late as the year

1330, the Holy Inquisition in Poland discovered

that many Poles and Bohemians visited the

Valdensian churches in Italy, and supported them

with rich donations. Thuanus states that Peter

Valdo himself, after having visited the Slavonian

countries, settled in Bohemia, and the learned

Perrin adheres to that opinion.* Supposing even

the tradition of Peter Valdo s wanderings and

death to be groundless, the very existence of this

tradition proves that the Valdensian doctrines

were circulating in those distant lands. At the

beginning of the twelfth century, when those

doctrines began to be promulgated, the Slavonian

or national churches existed in great numbers

throughout Bohemia, Silesia, Moravia, and Po

land. When we reflect that the above-mentioned

churches allowed the free use of the scriptures,

the worship in the vernacular tongue, the com-

religion,ct que les spectacles desfeux et des supplices publics,furen t

comme aidant des messagers qui lapuUierent par toutes lesparties

de VAllemagne et de la Pologne, qui epouserent cette doctrine."

The same author states, page 336-337, on the authority of

Regnerus and Vignier, that the Waldenses had, about the year

1210, churches in Slavonia, Sarmatia (Poland) and Livonia. Vide

also M Crie s History of the Reformation in Italy, page 4.

* "

Valdus, civitates Vandalicas diu perambulans postrcmo in

Bohemia pedem jixit." Thuanus. Histoire des Vaudois par

Perrin, 223.


taunion of two kinds, and the marriage of priests,

indulgences prohibited by the papal innovations,

we may conceive that the precepts of Peter Valdo

could find an easy access to the followers of those

national churches. It is well known that the

Valdensians maintained nearly the same tenets

that were afterwards triumphantly established bythe Reformation, and we have many instances

of similar doctrines having been openly preachedin Bohemia, and re-echoed in Poland, even

before the time of Huss.

The sects of the Flagellants and of the Fratri-c

>.

Frati-icelli.

celli, who disturbed Europe during the thirteenth

and fourteenth centuries, extended also to Poland,

where they found a great number of adherents.

But as the above-mentioned sects did not assume

any peculiar character different from that which

they exhibited in other countries, we shall not

give any description of them, which may be

found in every work relating to the ecclesiastical

history of those countries.*

We must, however, not omit a very remarkable J hn Pien-sis and his fol-

occurrence that took place in the fourteenth cen- lowers.

tury at Breslau, which, although situated in Sile

sia, constituted at that time one of the Polish

dioceses. In the year 1341, a certain John

Pirnensis began to preach publicly that the Pope

* Vide vol. iii. of Moshe im s Ecclesiastical History, English

translation.

56 SKETCH OF THE

was the Antichrist, Rome the great prostitute of

Babylon and the church of Satan, as well as

many other similar tenets. His disciples distin

guished themselves particularly by their inveterate

hatred against the clergy. All Breslau seems to

have embraced for a time this sect. The burgomaster himself declared against the Pope and

the clergy, whilst the doctrines of Pirnensis were

preached in the streets. The tribunal of the Holy

Inquisition at Cracow commissioned the Inquisi

tor, John of Swidnica (Schweidnitz), to extirpate

the heresy of Pirnensis, but the inhabitants of

Breslau rose against the Inquisitor and murdered

him. Our countryman, the ecclesiastical historian

Bzovius (Bzowski), reports that he had seen him

self, in the year 1607, the garment of the Inquisitor pierced with knives and imbrued with gore,

which was preserved as a relic. He also saysthat in that time there was in the archives of

the Trinity church, in the same city, a manu

script containing the doctrines of Pirnensis.*

This sect, however, disappeared after the death

of its founder, whose body was, by the orders

of Rome, disinterred, burnt, and its ashes scat

tered to the winds. It is probable that the fol

lowers of Pirnensis were afterwards absorbed bythe Hussites, who spread in great numbers over

Silesia at the beginning of the fifteenth century.

*Bzovius, ad ann. 1341.


The limits of our work preclude our entering influence of the5

Hussite doc-

mto a detailed description of the rise and progress trines.

of the Hussite doctrines in Bohemia, and we shall

only endeavour to trace the influence which theyexercised in our own country.

The tradition of the national worship appearsto have had a stronger hold on the minds of the

people in Bohemia than in the other Slavonian

countries, notwithstanding its complete abolition

in 1174. The latter part of the fourteenth cen

tury was favourable to the development of Bohe

mian nationality, under the fostering care of the

Emperor Charles the Fourth, who was a zealous

promoter of the national language and institutions

of that country.* This circumstance has proba

bly contributed to revive the attachment to the

national worship of which the communion of two

kinds was an important part. That the use of

such communion was not uncommon in Bohemia

immediately before Huss, is evident from the prohibition of that communion in 1350, as well as

from its defence by some learned Bohemians, as,

Conrad Stekna in 1369, John Milicz in 1374, Antiromanist,-.-,. , T . manifestations

ana Mathias de Janowa in 1394, who being the in Bohemia

confessor of Charles the Fourth, performed divine Husband their

service according to the rites of the national wor- Poland*C

ship in the imperial chapel. The Pope denounced

* Charles the Fourth was so partial to the Bohemian language,that he recommends, in the Golden Bull, the Electors of the

empire to learn it.

58 SKETCH OF THE

as heretics the above-mentioned defenders of the

communion of two kinds, and ordered their im

prisonment. Milicz and Math, de Janowa sought

and found refuge in Poland, where they conti

nued to preach their doctrines. Pope Gregorius

the Eleventh ordered (1374) Jaroslav Skotnicki,

archbishop of Gniezno, to proceed against Milicz

as one who openly preached heresy, reproaching

at the same time the supineness and timidity of

the Holy Inquisition in Poland.* We do not,

however, see that the papal admonition had

produced much effect.

We think that the circumstances which we

have just related prove that the reformation of

Bohemia originated in domestic elements, from

national traditions, and was the effect of the

development of the national intellect, and that

Wicliff is unjustly considered as the primitive

cause of that reformation. Far be from us the

idea of wishing to diminish the merit of that great

man, who has given the first formal aad decided

expression to the evangelical truth;but although

he undoubtedly gave an impulse to the movement

which renovated the scriptural doctrines amongstthe Slavonian nations, he did not create that

movement.

It is well known that the queen of Richard the

* Friese Beytrage zur Reformations Geschichte, vol. i.

page 11. Raynaklus, ad ann. 1374.


Second was a Bohemian princess, and that many influence of*

Wicliff on Bo-

persons of her household who had accompanied her hemia and PO-

to this country returned after her death to their

native land, and contributed to spread there the

opinions of Wicliff. A great intercourse existed at

that time between the universities of Prague and

Oxford, and it was nothing uncommon for English

students to frequent the first of those learned

establishments, and for the Bohemians to fre

quent the latter. There are many grounds to

believe that Hieronymus of Prague, the fellow

martyr of Huss, had spent some time at Oxford.

The works of Wicliff were the first means of

spreading the seeds of reformation amongstthe Bohemians. Huss translated the writings of

Wicliff, and made his name popular amongst his

countrymen.*

The rapid success which the opinions brought

forward by Wicliff, and propagated by Huss,

obtained in Bohemia, whilst they produced com

paratively little effect in England, and none in

*Hieronymus of Prague is supposed to have returned from

Oxford about the year 1400. Two Englishmen, called James

and Conrad, publicly preached against Rome at Prague in 1404.

The Dialogus and Trialogus of Wicliff were translated into

Bohemian by Huss. Two hundred volumes, beautifully written

and richly bound (pulcherrime conscripta ac bullis aureis, tegu-

mcntisque preciosis ornata}, containing the works of Wicliff

and Huss, Hieronymus and Milicz, were burnt by the Catholic

clergy in 1408. Vide I Enfant, Cochleus dc bcllo Husstiorum.

60 SKETCH OF THE

other parts of western Europe, is mainly to be

attributed to the traditional attachment to the

national worship, as well as to the hereditary

hostile feeling which existed between the Slavo

nians and the Germans. The Roman hierarchy

was ever united with German feudalism in op

pressing- the popular forms of the Slavonian

institutions, and their national mode of worship.

This spirit of rivalry was strongly manifested in

e na- the quarrel which took place at the university of

Ge

nrma

a

n

ndor

h

fo. Prague between the national and German party.

[heg

m!iversTty

at The causc of that quarrel was the privilege whichof Prague. tne Emperor Charles IVth had conferred on the

Germans (under which name all the foreigners

studying at the university of Prague were com

prehended). They possessed three votes at all the

elections of the university, whilst the Bohemians,

or natives, had only one vote : hence the Germans

were constantly elected to the academical digni

ties, which gave just offence to the Bohemians.

Huss was on that occasion the leader of the

national party, and he represented to the king

that the unjust privilege should be abolished, and

the custom of the university of Bologna and Paris

adopted. These two universities, which were

called by that of Prague its mothers, allowed one

The national vote to foreigners, whilst they gave three to theparty, headed

by HUSS, gains natives of the country. I his demand was granted

GS

emansan

retire by the monarch on the 5th October 1409, and it

produced such discontent amongst the German


students that they all left Prague, which caused

the foundation of the university of Leipsic.*

Huss was elected rector of the university after

the departure of the Germans from Prague, and

the national party eagerly embraced the religious

doctrines of its leader;the anti-Romanist feeling

being blended with the anti-German. These

circumstances account for the rapid spread of

the Hussite doctrines amongst the Slavonians

of Bohemia and the adjacent countries, as well

as for their want of success amongst the Ger

mans.

Poland was at that time intimately connected intimate con.

,i T i ,1 inexion of PO-

witn .Bohemia : the languages of both countries land with BO-

were then almost the same. The youths of Poland thTperiod"

g

generally resorted for their education to the

university of Prague, where an especial collegefor them was founded by Queen Hedvige.fHuss s character was held in great estimation

* Vide Bellum Hussiticum a Zachario Theobaldo juniore.

Fancoforti 1621, pages 6, 7.

f One of the first martyrs of Huss s reformation was a Pole.

The indulgences being preached at Prague in 1411, two

Bohemians, named Krzydelko and Halesz, and a Pole, called

Stanislaw Paszek, a shoemaker by trade, excited by their zeal

against such preposterous doctrines, proclaimed them in the

midst of the churches where they were preached to be false

hoods. They paid with their lives their generous conduct. The

inhabitants of Prague interred their bodies with great respect,

and Huss preached a sermon at their burial.

62 SKETCH OF THE

The Polish m Poland, which is sufficiently attested by thenobility presentat the council protestation presented by the Bohemians to theof Constance .

zealously take fathers of the council m favour of that reformer,the part of . . . . , , ,, .

HUSS. on which occasion they were joined by all the

Poles present at Constance ;and Huss himself

gives in one of his letters a most decisive evidence

of the part which the Poles, and particularly an

eminent nobleman of that nation, took in his

defence.* Huss s fellow-martyr, Hieronymus of

* Hussi comites cum nobilitate Polonica quce Constantia?

erat se conjungere communique opera prid. id Mail anni 1415

hcec ad Patres Concilii scribere :" Non potest sibi temperare

venerandi patres, Bohemia Polonictzque gentis nobilitas, quajamhie est quin vobis quifrequentesjam iterum consedistis significet

Illustrissimum principem ac dominum Sigismundum electum Im-

peratorem Horn, semper Augustum, Hungaria, Croatitz, Dal

maticB Regem, ex quo in Bohemia nonnullas controversias exortas

inaudiit, honoris illius regni ratione habita, de negotio hoc susci-

piendo administrandoque et conjiciendo cogitasse et denique M. J.

Hussium sub Jide publica per Desp. Venceslaum Dubeum, et

Joannem ChlumcBum, qui prcesentes adsunt ad sacrum ocumemcum

concilium vocandum atque deducendum curasse, ut adversariisjidei

siifie rationem redderet, id quod despotce illiquosdiximus cum Joanne

Hussio summisse prestiterunt. Hussium autem subtfide publica hue

venienlem, indicia causa duro carcere inclusum esse, in quo etiam-

num vinculis constrictum fame sitique crucietur. Et licet in

Concilio Pisano, anno 1410, gui condemnati fuerunt htzretici,

tuti, securique aut inviolati domum reverti fuerunt. Noster tamen

M. J. Hussius hoc impetrasse non potuit, ac neque convictus t

neque condamnatus, sed inauditus, antequam ullius ? egis, principis

aut academicB legati advenisse?it in carcerem conjectus est. Im-

peratore quoque uno cum hisce qui hie adsunt nobilibus, scepe

a volns postulante, ut decoris sucejidei que publica ratione habita,

M. Joannem


Prague, had spent sometime in Poland, where he

was called (14 10), in order to organise the univer-

M. Joannem Hussium audiretis, Jidei SUCK rationcm publicc

postularetis, convictumque, quod sacra scriptures contraria docuis-

sct, de concilii sententia corrigere cogeretis : non tamen impetrare

voluisse, sed quernjam sape dicimus M. Hussium duriori carceri

inclusum, arctioribus vinculis constrictum, illiberali clbo pastum

atque ita consumptum esse, ut periculum sit ne eum corporis, animi

quoque sui vires deficiant. Et licet hi despottz, quijam hie adsunt

apud Bohemos omnes maleforte audituri sint, propterea quod, quid

de Hussio fiai videant, nee tamen rem apud Imperatorem eo

deducant, utfdes ilia publics quu ipsi cautum est servetur prasti-

turque, nee adversaries cam violare vel infringere concedatur,

propterea quod laudatissimo Bohemia regno quod a primo chris-

tiance religionis exordio, nunquam a debita Romance ecclesitz

obedicntia deflexit, atque descivit contumeliosum est, ne tamen

sancti concilii turbandi ansa prcebueretur, omnia ista in hanc

usque horam patientissime tulerunt. Proinde venerandi Patres

ac doming Bohemia; Polonice que nobiles apud vos cupide etiam

atque etiam instare voluerunt ut ex rationejtdei publicce gloritzque

turn regni, quod diximus, turn vestrce ipsorum amplificandce in

M. Joanni Hussi causam incumbatis remque maturetis (si quidem

in^ens in vestra mora periculum est) divinaque adjuti opefeliciter

pcrficiatis, inquo quidem singularem de vobis spem conspiciunt.

Prceterea quoniam iidem, de quibus dictum est, despotce resciverunt,

a quibusdam Bohemica gentis calumniatoribus sparsum esse, a

quibusdam in Bohemia sacratissimum Domini nostri Jesu Christi

sanguinis sacramentum in profanis vasis circumferri, item a sutori-

buspeccata conjltentes audiri, sacramque ccenam distribui : id circo

orant ne hujusmodi calumniatoribus ullamjidem habeatis ; propte

rea quod nefarii isti nebulones in regnum ita calumniantcs ,nihih

homines esse perspicietis, quibus re itapostulante> adfrigidas

suas

jejunasque calumnias ita respondebimus ut A. M. S. vestraque ora

turpe

64 SKETCH OF THE

sity of Cracow.* The above circumstances united

in communicating to Poland all the opinions

which had sprung up in Bohemia, and ensured

them a rapid success.

spread of HUS- The fact that the Hussite doctrines were widelysite doctrines J

in Poland. spread in Poland is sufficiently attested, by the

laws which the influence of the clergy enacted

turpe erubescant." Vide Bellum Hussiticum a Zacharia Theo-

baldo juniore, Francoforti, 1621, page 30.

({ Poloni tanquam strenues defensores veritatis Dei, opponerunt

se scepius toll concilio pro liberatione mea. D. Wenceslaus de

Leszna intrepidus et zeksus veritatis defensor, an. 1415."

We have extracted this letter from a very rare work (found in

the Brit. Mus.) ent. " Visiones nocturne? Stephani Melish, civis

Lesnensis, 1659," 12mo.

*" Eodem anno 1410, M. Hieronymus qui doctior perhibebatur

a Pohnice Rege Academics SUCK constrituendce gratia Cracoviam

et inde rebus suis confectis ad Sigismundum Hungarice Regemevocari." Idem, pag. 18.

There lived at the same time another Hieronymus of Prague,

but of different religious opinions with his namesake. After hav

ing spent twenty years at the convent of Camaldoli in Italy,

he ^returned to his native city of Prague, which he left again

on account of the doctrines of Huss spreading there. He went

to Poland, whence King Jaguellon sent him to Lithuania in

order to co-operate at the conversion of its inhabitants, which he

did with great success. He was afterwards present at the Coun

cil of Basil, where Eneas Sylvius (afterwards Pope Pius the

Second) heard from him an account of the conversions he had

effected in Lithuania as well as of the idolatry of the inhabitants

that country. Enece Sylvii Europ. cap. 26.


against heresy during the fifteenth century. The

Holy Inquisition had been established in Poland

already, in the fourteenth century, against the

sect of the Fratricelli, but we cannot trace anyserious persecution of the sectarians. The arch

bishop of Gniezno convoked in 1416 a synod at

Wielun, which established some very severe re

gulations against the Hussites.

The Synod of Lenczyca, held in 1423, adoptedlikewise very severe resolutions against the Bohemian heresy. It enjoined the parish priests to

imprison and to bring before the bishops all

those who were suspected of favouring the new

doctrines. It was forbidden to all the directors

of schools to receive teachers who came from

Bohemia, and the intercourse with that countrywas to be prevented by all possible means. Thefathers were prohibited to give any assistance

whatever to their children going to Bohemia, or

professing heretical opinions. It was also par

ticularly recommended carefully to examine the

books which were used by the parish priests.

This last circumstance evidently proves that the

doctrines of Huss were spreading amongst the

lower clergy, and that books containing his opi

nions were circulating in the country. The cir

culation of Hussite books in Poland is moreover

confirmed by the great number of Roman Ca

tholic works published at that time in Poland

VOL. I. F

66 SKETCH OF THE

against the Bohemian heresy, and which must

have been very prevalent if it called for such a

remedy. The Roman Catholic clergy were, in

deed, too good politicians to expatiate without

necessity upon heretical doctrines, the knowledge

of which alone was already fraught with danger

of infecting the minds of the people, whose

orthodoxy they wanted to preserve.

The regulations of that clergy which we have

mentioned were confirmed and proclaimed by

the king in 1424, and heresy was declared high

treason. Several diets enacted similar laws,

which remained, however, a dead letter, and the

influence of the clergy which had originated

them was not sufficiently great to ensure their

execution. Martinus of Brzesc, magister here

tics pravitalis, strongly recommended (1437)

to the magistrates to arrest and bring to his

tribunal all persons infected with Bohemian

errors. The regency which governed the country

during the minority of Vladislav the I lid, gavein 1438 power to Nicolas of Lenczyca, also a

magister heretics pravitatis, to act against the

sectarians, who were to be punished accordingto the ordinances of Emperor Frederic the I Id,

and the civil authorities were enjoined to assist

the inquisitors. The Dominican monk, Martinus

de Kace, obtained in 1464 an authorization from

the monarch to act against the heretics; yet, in


spite of this formidable array of laws arid regu

lations, by which the Roman Catholic church

sought to repress the growing heresy, its efforts

proved unavailing.

Poland had only one auto-da-fe, where some

Hussites were burnt : but this act of atrocity was

perpetrated in a time of general trouble, on the

sole authority of a bishop, and in a manner

which resembled more an act of private ven

geance than of public justice, executed in con

sequence of established laws.* There mayhave been some secret victims sacrificed in the

darkness of some convent, and chosen from

amongst the lower classes of society ;but it was

impossible to seize any individual belonging to

the numerous class of nobles without a formal

condemnation by a competent tribunal. Poland

acquired, in the fifteenth century, its habeas cor

pus. The fundamental principle of the Polish

constitution, the neminem captivare permittimusnisijure victum, was established in 14-50. Many of

* Andreas Bninski, bishop of Posnania, collected nine hun

dred horsemen, besieged the town of Zbonszyn, and com

pelled the inhabitants to deliver to him five Hussite preachers,

whom he burnt publicly, 1439. The same bishop, who was so

cruel to heretics, was very lenient to the vices and profligacy

of his own clergy :u In clcricos irnpudicos suce eccle.suc

xuwque dloccsis parum sevcrus ct rigidus, mitltorum tolerans

scandala ct vitia, nc Ulos xibi efficere.t injimos" says Dlugosz.

F 2

SKETCH OF THE

the first families in the country openly embraced

the Bohemian doctrines without being subjected

to any persecution ;and even Sophia, queen of

Vladislav Jaguellon, was favourably disposed to

the new doctrines.*

* We must not omit mentioning a remarkable fact, relating

to the religious state of Poland, which happened in that

country during the fifteenth century. Andreas Galka Dob-

szynski, or of Dobszyn, magister artium of the university of

Cracow, expounded with some others the works of Wicliff

at Cracow, about 1449, and wrote a hymn in honour of the

English reformer. We think that our readers will take some

interest in the translation of that curious document, and we

give it to them as literal as possible :

" Ye Poles, Germans, and all nations ! Wicliff speaks the

truth ! Heathendom and Christendom had never a greater

man than he, and never will have one.

" Whoever wishes to know himself, let him approach Wicliff;

whoever will* enter the ways which he has pointed out will

never leave them, and never will err.

" He has unveiled divine wisdom, human knowledge, and

things that were hidden to philosophers.lf He has written by inspiration about the ecclesiastical

dignity, the sanctity of the church, the Italian antichrist, and

the wickedness of the popes.f Ye priests of Christ, who were called in by Christ, follow

Wicliff.

1 The imperial popes are antichrists ; their power is derived

from the antichrist from imperial German grants."

Sylvester, the first pope, took his power from the dragon

Constantine, and diffused his venom over all the churches.

Led by Satan, Sylvester deceived the emperor, and got

possession of Rome by fraud.

We


We must briefly delineate the political relations Political re-

which existed between Poland and Bohemia, Poland amTBo-

during the period when the Hussitan doctrines

were flourishing in the last-named country, and

which naturally contributed to the spreading of

them in Poland.

We have enumerated the many ties that con

nected both the countries, and it was natural

that Bohemia looked for assistance, in its struggle

against Germanism and Romanism, to Poland,

which had recently acquired a great increase of

power, since the accession to its throne of Ja-

guellon, grand duke of Lithuania, in 1386. The

Bohemians, influenced by the moderate party

" We wish for peace let us pray to God ; let us sharpen the

swords, and we shall conquer the antichrist. * Let us strike the

antichrist with the sword, but not with one made of iron/

Saint Paul says : kill the antichrist with the sword of Christ.

" Truth is the heritage of Christ. The priests have hidden

the truth ; they are afraid of it, and they deceive people with

fables.

"O Christ! for the sake of thy wounds, send us such

priests as may guide us towards the truth and may burythe antichrist."

The author of this hymn was obliged to retire from Cracow ;

but he found a refuge at the court of Boleslav the Vth, princeof Oppeln, in Silesia, who professed the doctrines of Huss.

Another curious circumstance is, that the celebrated Polish

printer, Fiol, who printed the first book with Slavonian or

Cyrillic letter (H91), was obliged to leave Cracow for some time,

on account of his Hussite opinions.

70 SKETCH OF THE

called the Praguians, sent an embassy in 1420,

offering the throne of their country to Vladislav

Jaguellon, king of Poland;but that monarch,

of a naturally irresolute character, gave them no

positive answer, although he received the dele

gates with great kindness. He desired to know

the precise conditions upon which the crown

was offered, and to ascertain the opinion of his

own senate. There were, indeed, some weightyreasons against the hasty acceptance of the prof

fered crown. A war with the Emperor, whoconsidered Bohemia as his hereditary kingdom,would have been an inevitable consequence ;

the

German knights, excited by that monarch, would

also in that case attack Poland. Jaguellon was

more anxious to crush the above-mentioned

knights who, in spite of their defeat at the

battle of Griinwald,* ceased not to be his most

* The battle ofGriinwald, or Tannenberg, fought on the22d

July 1410,, is one of the most celebrated in the history of

Poland. The knights of Prussia were entirely defeated on

that day by the united forces of Poland and Lithuania. They

lost, according to contemporary historians, the immense number

of fifty thousand men ; the Grand Master of the order, Ulrich de

Jungingen, was killed, and many officers of distinction taken

prisoners. The advantages of that great victory were, how

ever, entirely lost to Poland by the supineness ofKing Vladislav

Jaguellon, and a peace was concluded in the ensuing year ; but

the victorious party derived from it no real advantage. A very

memorable circumstance of the above-mentioned battle is, that

John Trocznowski, or of Trocznow, who, under the name of

Ziska,


formidable enemies than to acquire Bohemia,

which was then divided by several factions.

Nicolas Hussenets, a powerful magnate, was

aiming at the possession of the crown of his

country; the celebrated Ziska was at the head

of the Taborites, who, imbued with a feeling of

nationality, and inclining towards republican

principles, were much averse to the rule of a

king, and particularly to that of a foreigner.

The emperor himself had still a strong party in

the country, and the Bohemian diet of Czaslaw

proposed to him conditions;

but when these

conditions were rejected, the Bohemians turned

again towards Poland. They sent a solemn

embassy, where the nobility were represented byHinek de Walstein and Halek de Wrzesnow,the clergy by John Cardinalis and the English-

Ziska, became afterwards the celebrated leader of the Hussites,

and who acquired his military skill in the Polish service, has

distinguished himself on that occasion. We have extracted

this notice from the learned Jesuit Balbinus, who says: "Nemo

virum hunc (Ziskam) rudem militicc hoc tempore Juisse suspi-

cietur. Narrat idem Zalanski (a Bohemian writer), Polonis ante

diu militasse ct Lithuania, ac Pruthenicis bellis omnibus inter-

fuisse, ac prasertim in cruentissimo prcelio in quo crucigeri ccesi

sunt 1410, maximum ad victoria attulisse momentum" Balbinus,

Epitome Rerum Bohemicarum, Prague, 1677, page 424. The

same author relates, page 464-5, that Ziska was in the habit of

wearing the Polish dress, and to trim his mustachios after the

Polish fashion.

72 SKETCH OF THE

man Peter Payne,* and the towns by Mickocz

and Staniczka, consuls or aldermen of Prague.

The conditions on which the Bohemian delegates

offered the throne of their country to the king

* Peter Payne was born in Lincolnshire, at a place called

Haugh or Hough, three miles from Grantham. He studied at

Oxford in Edmund s Hall,, of which he was principal,, 1410-15.

(Vide List of the Principals of Edmund Hall, in the Oxford

University Calendar; alsoWood s History of Oxford, page 216.)

It is impossible to ascertain the precise time when Paynearrived at Bohemia, where he enjoyed a high consideration

amongst the Hussites, and was sent as a delegate to the Council

of Basil in 1483. Lenfant describes him as a man of deep

learning, who particularly employed himself in explaining the

obscure places in Wicliff s writings. The Roman Catholic

writer Cochleus gives the following account of Peter Payne:" Petrus Payne ingeniosus magister Oxoniensis, qui articulos Wi-

clephi ex libris ejus punctatim et seriatim deduxit, et suis opusculis

pestifcris imposuit, arte inferiores sed ve?ie?io pervicatiores : quce

Wicleph obscure posuit, iste explanavit: ipse suo pravo ingejiio

non solumjleret errorum Wiclephi doctor, sed approbator et auctor,

augmentator et promulgator, hujus purissimi rcgni Bohemia

primarius et perniciosissimus inferior et destructor. Taboritis

maxime favebat, sectator Wiclephi obstinatissimus, Pragam cum

libris ejus profugit" Cochleus, Historia Hussitarum. We think

that Cochleus is not correct in calling Payne primarius injector

of Bohemia, as the opinions of Wicliff had been promulgated

there many years before the arrival of Peter Payne. Vide

note in p. 59. Payne is supposed tohave died at Prague in 1455.

The details of the various negotiations between Bohemia and

Poland are taken chiefly from Dlugosz, whose evidence uponthat subject was also adopted by Lenfant, in his Histoire des

Guerres des Hussites.


of Poland were the communion of two kinds,

the national liturgy, an unlimited liberty of

preaching the gospel, the confiscation of the

estates of the Roman Catholic Church, and the

confirmation of all the national liberties. They

represented the motives which should make him

accept the proposed crown as follows : acommon

language and origin ;the reunion of Silesia with

Poland, and even the union into one monarchyof Poland, Bohemia, and Moravia, which would

form a most powerful estate, destroy Austria, and

give to the new Slavonian empire a decided

supremacy over all its neighbours. Yet these

extraordinary advantages could not overcome the

irresolution of Jaguellon. The clergy, whose

influence was great in the senate, opposed the

Bohemians;and the idea of becoming the head

of an heresy terrified the aged monarch, although

by no means a bigot. Yet the advantages offered

by the Bohemians were too brillant to be rejected

altogether, and the king therefore amused them

with evasive answers. The delegates offered the

throne of Bohemia to Vitold, grand-duke of

Lithuania, cousin to the king. Vitold, althougha bold and ambitious prince, dared not to accept

openly the proposed sovereignty, but adopted a

middle course, evidently with the consent of

Jaguellon. He sent his relative, Prince Sigis-

mimd Coributt, with considerable forces and a arn?y

to ther

assistance of

large sum of money, to assist the Bohemians, the Hussites.

74 SKETCH OF THE

This important act was a recognition of the

rights of the Hussites;and the Bohemian Diet,

1421, emboldened by the assistance of the Polish

forces, rejected in a decisive manner the claims

of the emperor to the throne of their country.

The Bohemians again offered the sovereignty,

either to Jaguellon or to Vitold, and in case

they should refuse, to Sigismund Coributt. But

Jaguellon was not only irresolute, but even on

the point of joining the emperor, who amused

him with a delusive promise of restoring Silesia

to Poland. The negotiations with the emperor

were, however, soon broken off by the want of

mutual confidence. Jaguellon assisted his re

lative with new forces, and gave by it an im

portant support to the Hussites, whose doctrine

was publicly adopted by Coributt, educated in

the Greek persuasion. Coributt entered Prague,

and was proclaimed regent of Bohemia. The

Pope sent a fulminating message to Vitold,

prohibiting him to assist the Bohemian heresy,

and absolving him at the same time from every

obligation he might have entered into with the

heretics. Vitold, in his answer to the Pope, ac

knowledged that he had accepted the proposedcrown of Bohemia and assisted the Bohemians

;

but expressed his hopes that the heresy mightbe subdued by conciliatory measures, and re

quested that the excommunication pronounced

against the Bohemians should be withdrawn.


The answer of Vitold proves that he was byno means a bigoted Catholic

;we do not believe,

however, that he had any particular leaning to

the Hussite doctrines : ambition was his creed,and he confessed himself that he did not understand much about religion. Had he been

permitted, he would have undoubtedly givensuch assistance to the Bohemians as to ensure

their final success;but the irresolute character of

Jaguellon, without whose co-operation, or at least

consent, he could do nothing to further the de

sired object, lost a fair opportunity for establish

ing the greatness of the Slavonian race, by the

union of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia with the

extensive dominions of Poland and Lithuania.

Coributt met with great difficulties in main

taining his new dignity, amidst the confusion of

parties which unfortunately at that time divided

the Bohemians. He succeeded, however, in over

coming those difficulties; and Ziska, who had

formerly been opposed to him, acknowledged himas regent of the country. The Praguians wished

to elect Coributt king of Bohemia, and to confirm

the new order of things by his solemn coronation :

the accomplishment of that project was prevented

by the hostility of the higher nobility, because

Coributt leaned for support chiefly on that partywhich was inclined to push the consequences of

political and religious reform farther than theywished or thought it expedient to do.

76 SKETCH OF THE

Had Jaguellon been steady in his friendship to

the Bohemians, Coributt would have easily over

come all the obstacles to the throne;but the

wavering mind of his royal relative marred the

accomplishment of a scheme, which every conside

ration of a sound policy should have urged him

to promote. The Bohemian embassy, which

arrived to request the confirmation of Coributt s

regency, was ill received by Jaguellon, who

reproached them with the troubles and anarchywhich desolated Bohemia. It is very likely that

the disorders unavoidable on a state of revolution,

and particularly so in a religious warfare, raised

apprehensions in the mind of the Polish monarch

lest they might extend to his country, and inclined

him to lend a willing ear to the suggestions of

Rome. He listened to the delusive promises of

the emperor; sent orders to Coributt to abandon

the Bohemians, who were to be attacked by the

united forces of Poland and those of the emperor.Yet this holy war, as it was called by the Pope,

supported by rich donations of the clergy, was

not even begun ;but the fickle and unwise policy

of Jaguellon was exceedingly prejudicious to the

Polish influence in Bohemia. The spirit of partywas roused, and the regent, unable to maintain

himself, was obliged to retire. Coributt resumed

again his dignity as regent of Bohemia, and

convoked the diet of Czaslav in 1424, in order to

bring about the reconciliation between the Tabo-


rites and the Praguians, the two principal parties

which at that time divided Bohemia. Coributt s

efforts obtained a momentary success, and he was

elected king, chiefly by the influence of the Pra

guians or Calixtines, partisans of a moderate

reform, and who retained much of the Roman

hierarchy and doctrines. Coributt made propo

sitions to Rome for a reconciliation with the

church. This raised a suspicion amongst the

Taborites, who, afraid of the restoration of the

papal dominion, took up arms. A domestic war

ensued. Ziska, the chief of the Taborites, obtained

a bloody victory over the Praguians, and the

negotiations with Rome were broken. After the

death of Ziska, Coributt regained his influence,

and commanded the Praguians and the Polish

auxiliary troops at the battle of Aussig,* where

* The battle of Aussig, on the banks of the Elbe, close to the

Saxon frontiers, took place in 1426 Aussiga, strong fortified

place occupied by Roman Catholics, was besieged by the Hus

sites of all parties. The Taborites and Orphans were com

manded by Procopius the Tonsured, who had succeeded Ziska;

and the Praguians by Sigismund Coributt, who had always a

strong body of Polish troops. A numerous army of Germans,

under the command of the Margrave ofMisnia, entered Bohe

mia in order to assist the Catholics ; but they were entirely

routed by the Hussitan forces, although much inferior in num

bers. This victory was very important to the cause of the Hus

sites ; and if Polish valour has rendered a signal service to the

cause of Christendom under the walls of Vienna, it may claim

some merit for having supported that of the reformed doctrines

at

78 SKETCH OF THE

the political and religious liberties of Bohemia

were saved from an imminent danger by a most

brilliant victory over the invading Germans. Bohemia continued, however, to be torn by factions ;

and Coributt, unsupported byJaguellon, abdicated

the royal dignity at the diet of 1427, and left the

country. He revisited Bohemia in 1430, where he

joined the party of the Orphans : but, after some

adventurous expeditions in Silesia and Lusatia,

he finally returned to Poland.*

Notwithstanding the unwise line of policy

which Jaguelion had pursued towards the Bohe

mians, they constantly turned their eyes to Poland,

expecting the most effective assistance from a

consanguine nation, whose sympathies were en-

at the battle of Aussig, as well as on many occasions where the

Polish auxiliaries took an efficient part in the struggle of the

Bohemians for their religious and political liberty. Besides the

troops sent under Coributt,, many Poles, attracted by their sym

pathies for a consanguine nation, and professing the Hussite

doctrines, constantly flocked to the victorious standard of their

ancient companion in arms Ziska (vide note, p. 70). We maymention amongst them Gizowski, who had been comman

der of the guards to king Jaguelion, and who joined afterwards

Ziska with a select band of wariors. The part which Coributt

took at the battle of Aussig is not mentioned by Lenfant, but it

is related in the Bohemian chronicle of Hagek of Liboczan.

Vide its German translation, Leipsic, 1718, p. 728.

* Coributt is the ancestor of the princely family Wisznio-

wiecki, now extinct, a member of which, Michel Wiszniowiecki,

mounted the throne of Poland in 1669.


listed in their1

cause. A deputation of Taborites

disputed publicly at Cracow about religion in

1427;but the most important transaction between

Poland and Bohemia is the public disputation A public dis-

putation be-

which was holden at Cracow in 1431, between the tween the deie-

Hussite deputies of Bohemia and the Roman Hifssites and

Catholic doctors of the university of Cracow.rr,! -,. .. . i ,1 Cracow takesThe disputation was carried on in the presence place at Cra-

of the king and the senate;and it is to be

prelelTce^f the

remarked that the Bohemians were represented senate!^

*

on that occasion not only by the moderate Ca-

lixtine party, whom the council of Basil admitted

into the community of the church, but even byall the branches of the followers of Huss. TheBohemian delegates on that occasion were the

celebrated Procopius, the bald or tonsured chief of

the Taborites;

the Englishman, Peter Payne,who represented the Orphans; Biedrzyk, Strazni-

czka, and William Kostka, deputies of the Pra-

guians, or Calixtines. Unfortunately, the chro

nicles have left no details about that polemical

meeting. Dlngosz, who relates that memorable

transaction, only says that the conferences, which

lasted several days, were almost continually held

in Polish;and that although, according to the

opinion of all present, ecclesiastics as well as laics,

the heretics were vanquished, they never acknow

ledged their defeat. But the fact alone that

heretical tenets were suffered to be publicly

discussed, is sufficient to prove the state of public

80 SKETCH OF THE

opinion which prevailed at that time in Poland,

about religious matters.

Favourable A Bohemian embassy which arrived in Polandreception of a

Hussite em. jn 1432, in order to propose an alliance against thebassy by the

Polish bishops; German knights, was received with great honoursbut the bishop .

of Cracow foils, by king Jaguellon, who was then at Vishtza; and

zeai, their

C

con- the Polish clergy admitted the Bohemians into

their churches, notwithstanding they remained

under the papal excommunication. This conci

liatory measure was adopted by the archbishop of

Gniezno, by the bishops of Vladislav, Poznania,

and Chelm. Jt was violently opposed by cardi-

nal Zbigniew, bishop of Cracow, zealously devoted

to the interests of Rome;and the exertions of that

bigoted prelate, who having succeeded in exciting

a riot amongst the populace of Cracow, shut the

town against the heretics, and destroyed, by menaces an4 intrigues, the views ofthose who wished

to establish a connexion between Poland and

Bohemia. The king was so irritated against the

bishop of Cracow, that he intended to put him to

death, but was dissuaded from committing that-

violent action by John Tarnowski, palatine of

Cracow.

The manifold relations between Poland and

Bohemia, which we have described, naturally con

tributed to the spread of Hussite doctrines in our

country. The effects of those doctrines beganto manifest themselves during the minority of

Vladislav of Varna, surnamed thus on account of


his heroic death, 1444, at the battle which bears

the name of that place. We have already ex

pressed that many great families in Poland had

publicly embraced the doctrines of Huss. Some Revolutionary

of those grandees, Abraham Zbonski, Spytek

Melsztynski, John Straz, and others made (1435)Hussites -

a confederation * for religious and political pur

poses. They refused the payment of tithes, and

demanded a limitation of the royal power, and the

correction of several abuses. In 1439 the confede

rates manifested bolder designs; they proclaimedan abolition of tithes, as well as of church cen

sures and excommunications ; they demanded

a change in the Roman hierarchy, and that the

enormous estates of the clergy should be appro

priated to objects of general utility. Besides

these religious subjects, they entertained political

schemes of a most daring character. They wished

to prevent Vladislav from succeeding to the

throne of his father, and some of them went so

* The nobles of Poland had the right to form an association

for the defence, even by force of arms, of the national liberties,

if they were threatened by some danger. Such associations

were called Confederations, and they gave birth to a powerwhich could save, as well as destroy the country. Poland has

often suffered from that dangerous privilege; but it has also been

sometimes saved from the most imminent danger, by the ap

plication of that violent remedy. Such was, for instance, the

confederation of Tyszowce in 1655, as well as the patriotic

although unsuccessful confederation of Bar in 1768.

VOL. 1. G

82 SKETCH OF THE

far as to wish for an abolition of the royal digni

ty. Spytek Melsztynski, the principal leader of

that party, who had established in all his estates

the Hussite mode of worship, was excommunica

ted by Zbigniew, bishop of Cracow, and excluded

from the senate. Melsztynski assembled an

army, devastated the domains of the bishop of

Cracow, and seized the town of Zator, whence

the capital derived its principal supplies. The

council of regency which governed the country

during the minority of the king, dared not to op

pose Melsztynski, who had a large party in the

country, but entered into negociations with him.

The heretical grandee consented to disband

his troops, and received a ransom of one thou

sand marks for the town of Zator. The move

ment of heresy which had triumphed on that

occasion, soon re-appeared in a more formidable

manner: it was excited by the dowager queen

Sophia, secretly attached to the Bohemian doc

trines and hostile to the council of regency, which

was checking her influence. Melsztynski assem

bled forces more considerable than before, defeat-

mentaiysucle(l the troops of the regency, and established his

defeated?

"*

camp in a strong position near the capital. Had he

been able to occupy Cracow and take hold of the

reins of the government, there would have proba

bly been an end of Romanism in Poland. He,

however, lost his life in an engagement ;his party

was routed, and the body of their leader, as that


of an avowed heretic, was left unburied on tiie

field of battle.

It was shortly after the defeat and death of

Melsztynski, that Bninski, bishop of Posen, seized

and burnt the Hussite preachers to whom wehave already alluded.*

The relations between Bohemia and Poland,which had been interrupted for some time, were

resumed again in 1438. Barbara, widow of the

emperor Sigismund III., persecuted on account

of her religions opinions, retired to Poland. The

youthful king Vladislav received the imperial

refugee with all the regard due to her exalted

station and great misfortune, and assigned the

extensive demesnes of Sandomir for her mainte

nance. Barbara, who had retained agreat influence

in Bohemia, induced the Bohemians to elect for

their monarch Casimir Jaguellon, brother to the The Hussite

king of Poland;and the Polish diet, held at

Korczyn, acknowledged that election, in spite of

the Roman Catholic opposition. Casimir marched

at the head of a Polish army to take possession

of his sovereignty, and was immediately acknow-

ledged by Silesia. The Roman Catholic partythrone -

of Bohemia elected Albert, archduke of Austria,

in opposition to Casimir. Casimir occupied Moravia; and the Polish forces, united with the

Hussites, took Kuttenberg and Sobieslaw, two

* Vide note, page 67.

G 2

84 SKETCH OF THE

important towns of Bohemia. Casimir s progress

was arrested by the treason of the count of Cilly,

but particularly by the interminable dissentions

between the Taborites and Calixtines;and the

hostilities were suspended by the efforts of the

council of Basil. A congress was held at Breslau,

in order to arrange a pacification between the

contending parties. The Polish delegates proposed that Casimir Jaguellon and Albert of Austria

should equally resign their respective claims to

the crown of Bohemia, and submit them to a diet

of that country, which should freely decide uponthe respective merits of the two candidates. This

truly liberal proposition was rejected by Albert

of Austria, who was afraid that the Polish party,

supported by the Hussites, would have prevailed

over his own, which leaned entirely on the

Roman Catholics, who were at that time in great

minority. The negociations were broken off, and

the congresses which were afterwards held at

Namyslaw and Lubusz, had no better result : but

the council of Basil obtained a suspension of

hostilities. The change of circumstances prevented the Polish prince from prosecuting his

rights to the Bohemian throne. His brother,

Vladislav, was elected king of Hungary, and

his attention became entirely absorbed with the

affairs of Turkey. Casimir s adherents diminished

in Bohemia by the increase of the party which,

being adverse to every foreign influence, was


equally so to that of Poland, notwithstanding a

common origin and a similar language. Casimir

became king of Poland after the death of his

brother, at the battle of Varna, in 1444, and

the relations with Bohemia were renewed under

his reign, by George Podiebrad, king of that

country, elected by the influence of the moderate

Hussites in 1458. Podiebrad, feeling that he was

unable by himself to oppose Rome and Germany, .

Casimir hav-

J ing succeeded

sought support from Poland. He proposed to to the throne of

.

L L. Poland, sup-

restore Silesia to Poland, to conclude an alliance P rts GeorgePodiebrad

against the German knights, and ensure the tj?e Hussite

succession of his throne to a prince of the Polish Bohemia.

dynasty. The congress of Bytom, which met in

1460 for the arrangement of the above-mentioned

propositions, was unable finally to settle that

important negociation, on account of some misun

derstandings which arose between the Bohemian

and Polish delegates respecting the succession

of the Polish prince to the crown of Bohemia; an

alliance was, however, concluded between the two

countries against their respective foreign enemies,

by which were understood Austria and the Ger

man knights. A personal meeting which took

place, in 1462, at Glogow, between the king of

Poland and that of Bohemia, confirmed and de

veloped the treaty of Bytom. By a solemn

recognition of Podiebrad s sovereignty, and bv

entering into a formal alliance with him, Casimir

86 SKETCH OF THE

became the ally of the heretical party which

Pocliebrad represented, and by whose influence

the reversion of the throne of Bohemia after his

death was guaranteed to a prince of Poland.

The Roman Catholic party felt the danger aris

ing from an alliance between the Hussites and

the king of Poland. They convened a diet at

Iglau, under the influence of a Roman legate,

and resolved to offer to Casimir the crown of

Bohemia, as a hereditary sovereignty, and to give

up to Poland some fine provinces, provided

Casimir would dissolve the treaty of Glogow,

and employ all his forces to crush the Hussites,

instead of supporting them. Casimir remained,

however, firm in his friendship to the Hussites,

and rejected those brillant offers, which were

brought to him by a solemn embassy. The

catholic party offered, after Casimir s refusal, the

throne of Bohemia to Mathias Corvin, king of

Hungary; but Casimir intimated that he would

never allow that the rights he had acquired bytreaties should be infringed, and remained faithful

in his alliance to the heretical and excommunica

ted Podiebrad, notwithstanding the complaints of

the Pope, who reproached him as acting against

the interests of Christianity. The Pope required

that a crusade against the Hussites should be

allowed to be preached in Poland; but Casimir

severely prohibited such proceedings, and permit-


ted nothing to be done against his ally.* The

high-minded policy ofthe Polish monarch obtained

a merited reward. The assembled states of Bo

hemia nominated Vladislav, son to king Casimir,

successor to Podiebrad, who was well aware of

his inability to establish the sovereignty in his

own family. It was only stipulated that the

Polish prince should espouse Ludomilla daughter

of Podiebrad, and that his sons should receive

large desmesnes after the demise of their royal

father.

The Polish clergy violently opposed, in the

senate, the confirmation of that important trans

action; they declaimed against a community with

heresy, and an alliance with obstinate enemies

of the Roman Catholic church, and urged that

the king should conquer Bohemia with the sword,

and crush the refractory sectarians by force. The

opposition of the clergy proved, however, vain,

and the senate ratified the election of the Polish

prince. Casimir promised to obtain from the

Pope the confirmation of the compactata, or the

indulgences, which the council of Basil had

granted to the Hussites.f

* Vide Dlugosz; Raynaldus Bzovius, ad annos 1466-67-

68-69.

f The council of Basil conceded, 1433, to the Hussites the

following articles, which are known under the name of the

Compactata :

00 SKETCH OF THE

The Polish After the death of Podiebrad, in 1470, the statesPrince Vladis

lav, is elected of Bohemia assembled at Kutno to confirm theKing ot Bohe- ...mia, by which previous election of Vladislav to the throne of

Ionian dynasty their country ; but although the rights of the Po-was established ,. ,

on the throne of lish prince had been solemnly acknowledged bya national consent, they were opposed by several

new competitors. Mathias Corvin king of Hun

gary, Albert margrave of Misnia, the emperor Fre

deric, and Henry son of the late king George

Podiebrad, appeared as candidates to the throne.

The claims of the Polish prince were, however,

the best-founded, his rights were formally ac

knowledged by the nation and the late monarch;

Bohemia was connected with Poland by a com

munity of origin and similarity of language ;its

political and religious liberty had been saved byPolish assistance, and every consideration of a

sound policy urged the Bohemians to promote a

union which could afford the best security to the

Slavonians against the ever-encroaching attempts

of Germany. These weighty reasons were duly

appreciated by the Bohemian states, who being

surrounded by considerable national forces, and

free from every foreign influence, proclaimed on

the 27th May, 1471, Vladislav prince of Poland,

Compactata : 1. The communion of two kinds. 2. The worshipin the national language. 3. Marriage of Priests. 4. Seculari

sation of Church property.


sovereign of their country. This memorable

event established for a long time the religious

and political liberty of Bohemia, and the reign

of Vladislav, and his son Lewis, 1471-1525, maybe considered the most flourishing period of the

history of that country ;the epoch of a great intel

lectual development, which had prepared the

golden era of its national literature.

We have expatiated perhaps too much on the

relations which existed between Bohemia and

Poland during the fifteenth century, in order to

prove that our country was not without its share

of merit in supporting the reformation of Huss,

which had prepared the way for that of Luther;

and, indeed, if the Germans may boast of havingeffected the reformation, we Slavonians mayclaim the honour of having laid its groundwork.Luther himself bears evidence to the deserts of

Huss, by the following words: "John Huss,"

says Luther," has weeded the vineyard of Christ

from many thorns. He has condemned the

scandal of the apostolical see. I have found a

fertile and well-tilled ground. I rose against the

Popish doctrines, and I destroyed them. Huss

was the seed which ought to die, and to be buried,

in order that it might germinate and grow.*

It is indeed extraordinary, that the Hussite

doctrines, which widely circulated in Poland

*Michelet, Memoires de Luther.

90 SKETCH OF THE

during the fifteenth century, had not obtained a

complete triumph, and become the established

religion of that country. It may be partly

ascribed to the circumstance that the cause which

had materially promoted the success of Huss s

Probable reformation in Bohemia, did not exist in Poland :

causes why the

Hussite doc- we mean the struggle between the Slavonian and

gain the upper- German elements, which rendered the doctrines

land. of Huss the rallying point of the national party

against the foreign influence, and gave to a reli

gious opinion the mighty support of a political

feeling. This element was entirely deficient in

Poland, which, being independent, had no

occasion to struggle for the maintenance of a

nationality, threatened with destruction from a

growing foreign influence, as was the case in

Bohemia. The deplorable dissensions amongstthe Hussites themselves, which had acted so

prejudiciously to the cause of reformation in

Bohemia, had also, no doubt, exercised a per

nicious influence on its progress in Poland.

Whatever may have been the cause of that failure,

it cannot be sufficiently lamented, as the triumphof the Hussite doctrines in Poland would have

undoubtedly led to the establishment of a scrip

tural religion amongst the greatest part, if not

the whole Slavonian race, and might perhapshave produced an entire overthrow of Romanism

in Europe. But, although Roman Catholicism

remained the dominant church of Poland, and


preserved unaltered its outward form, its spirit

was much changed. Romanism, during the fif

teenth century, was fast losing its hold upon the

minds of the people in our country, who were

much prepared for the reception of the reformed

doctrines, and which accounts for their rapid

spread in the ensuing century.

The university of Cracow, founded in 1400, Religious and

contributed much to the intellectual progress of Poland during

Poland during the fifteenth century, which is century.

6 " 1

also the epoch of the development of its consti

tution. We have already mentioned, that the

Polish habeas corpus, the neminem captivare permittimus nisijure vieturn, was formally establish

ed in the middle of that century. The powerof the king was circumscribed by the formation

of a privy council of four senators, residing

always with the monarch, without whose consent

the royal acts had no legal validity, and who

might be considered as responsible ministers of

the crown. The national representation received

a more definite form, by the division of the le

gislative body into the Senate, or House of Peers,and the Chamber of Nuncios, or House of Commons, at the Diet of Piotrkow, in 1453. The diet

of 1459 is memorable on account of the greatconstitutional questions which were agitated in

that assembly; but it deserves our particularnotice from the opinions which John Ostrorogsubmitted to that diet on different political re-

92 SKETCH OF THE

forms, and which was afterwards embodied in his

work, Pro Reipublicce Ordinalione, J. Ostrorog,

fyc., published without date and place.

Reform in Ostroros: was a man remarkable not only forthe church

proposed by his great learning, but also for the high rank heOstrorog to the ,,,.,. . f ,, froiish Diet of held in his country. His father was regent ot

Poland during the absence of king Vladislav on

the unfortunate expedition of Varna;

he was

himself palatine of Poznania, and had obtained

the dignity of a doctor of laws at the university

of Padua, where the Polish nobles generally

went in order to complete their studies. His

opinions may be considered, therefore, not as

those of an enthusiast, strongly impressed by

ideas new to the community in which he lived,

and whom he sought to convert to his own con

viction; but they must be rather viewed as the

expression of the opinions which were at that

time entertained by the thinking part of the

nation. The calm and dignified tone in which

Ostrorog s work is written, gives an additional

reason to suppose, that it contained the opinions

of a moderate party wishing for reforms required

by the necessities of the age, and not of some

exalted promoters of violent measures. It would,

however, be foreign to our subject to canvass

the merits or dements of the above-mentioned

propositions, in reference to purely political mat

ters, and we shall limit ourselves to giving a few

extracts relating to the affairs of the church.


1. "There is no objection in recommending to

the Pope this kingdom as a Catholic country,

but it becomes not to proffer to him an unlimited

obedience. The king of Poland is subject to

none, and has no superior but God.

2. "

It is unbecoming to address to the Popehumble and submissive letters. The king is not

the subject of Rome; humility is not bad in

itself, but when exaggerated, and shown to one

who has authority in affairs of a purely spiritual

nature, it becomes guilty. Christ has not sub

mitted temporal affairs to the apostolical see;he

has even said, that his kingdom was not of this

world. The clergy should also bear the public

burthens, equally with other citizens.

3. " If the bishops and all the clergy were,

as they suppose to be, really spiritual, I would

object, that the civil authority should direct

the elections of the church dignities. The king

would then distribute only the political dignities,

and the clergy watch over the salvation of souls.

Their ecclesiastical duties, and their worldly

business, would be then entirely separated. But

there is none who would investigate, and clearly

explain the duties imposed on the clergy. Custom

has prevailed; and in order to avoid greater evils,

it is necessary to leave the elections to the king,

who will choose persons of learning and of a

meek character, and thus prevent mutual hatreds

between laity and clergy.

94 SKETCH OF THE

4." It is to be lamented, that Italian perversity

impoverishes the kingdom of Poland by manifold

exactions. Rome draws annually large sums,

under the pretence of piety and religion, but in

fact, by means of superstition. A bishop never

gets his consecration without paying some thou

sands of ducats to the Roman pontiff, although

the canon law leaves the consecration of bishops

to archbishops. Our lenity and supineness have

given the force of law to the Italian perversity and

abuses. The annates were originally obtained for

the expenses of a war against the Turks : war

has ceased, and the annates have remained. It

is not right, therefore, to continue longer this tax

of mistaken piety. The Pope must not exercise

tyranny under the pretence of religion.

5." The bishop of Rome has invented a most

unjust motive for imposing taxes the war

against the infidels. Poland, at least, should be

exempted from them, as it leads to a constant

warfare with the Moscovites, Turks, and Tartars.

Being stationed on the limits of Christendom,

Poland unceasingly defends the Christian coun

tries. I think, therefore, that the national trea

sury could take the annates which are given to

the Pope.*6. " The clergy seek always to screen them-

* The payment of annates to the Pope was afterwards pro

hibited by the Diets of 1544, 1567, 1607, 1667.


selves, whenever they are called to assist the

wants of the republic. They feign to have fears,

when there should be none. They have probably

forgotten, that all their superfluities should be

the property of the poor. If, therefore, the

clergy make an ill use of their goods, they com

mit robbery. There could be no purer alms, if

the church would devote the goods that are given

to the poor to their exclusive use.

7. " The king is accused, that he exacts from

the estates of abbots and other clergy services;

but our fathers have not endowed monasteries

with rich donations, without any object. Theymeant that all which would remain from the

maintenance of the monks, who ought to live

modestly, should be devoted to the wants of the

country. The king is equally blamed for having

coined church plate into money. They have

certainly not read St. Bernard, who says : The

church has gold ;not that it might possess it,

but that it might give it to the needy. The king

took the church plate, because he was pressed

by necessity; but Rome accumulates great riches

by its jurisdiction. A law-suit lasts sometimes

thirty years, and the parties die before it is ended.

Rome takes no sheep without wool, and the

country suffers great losses. It is true, that it

receives 1 do not know what bulls a fine ex

change, indeed ! There are, however, amongst

us such people as respect the Roman scribblings,

96 SKETCH OF THE

furnished with red seals and hempen strings, and

suspended on the door of a church. We must

not submit to the Italian deceits. We have in

our country bishops, archbishops, and even a

primate: why should we not ourselves judge our

own causes ?

8." Is it not a deceit that the Pope imposes

upon us, in spite of the king and the senate, I

do not know what bulls, called indulgences. He

gets money by assuring people that he absolves

their sins;but God has said by his prophet :

4 My son, give me thy heart, and not money.

The Pope feigns that he employs his treasures

for the erection of churches ; but, in fact, he

employs them to enrich his relations. I will pass

over in silence things that are still worse. There

are monks who praise such fables. There are a

great number of preachers and confessors who

only think how to get the richest harvest, and

who indulge themselves in luxuries after having

plundered the poor people.

9. " After Rome, our own country is the

greatest sink of simony and deceit. The clergy

sell burials, extreme unctions, penitences, bap

tisms, and marriages, which should all be admi

nistrated gratis. The bishopricks were erected

and endowed that they might pay the ministers of

the church. The tithes were formerly given by

the rich, and not by the poor; but now the poor

give tithes to the rich. Is this the application


of the precept : I require mercy and not sacri

fice.

10. "It is very bad, that convents are filled

with idle and incapable people. St. Paul recommends to be cautious in bestowing ordination :

what scandal and what abuses have not arisen

from such people ! After having shaven his head,and endued a cowl, one thinks himself fit to

correct all the world. He cries and almost bel

lows in the pulpit, because he sees no opponent.Learned men, and even those who possess an

inferior degree of knowledge, cannot listen with

out horror to the nonsense, and almost blasphemy,uttered by such preachers.

11. "

People such as are the least qualified for

it enter generally the ecclesiastical order; be

cause idleness is an agreeable thing, a blessed

repose. They have been probably induced to it

by St. Paul, who says :* If a man desireth the

office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. But

they have not thought that to desire episcopacyfor its advantages is a bad thing.

12. " The number of labourers and mechanics

is continually diminishing. The reason of that

diminution is, that every body likes to wear the

cowl, in order to lead an idle and useless life.

As it is the duty of public authority to take care

that idleness and vagrancy should not spread

over the country, it should be therefore enacted,

that the towns should not admit such numbers

VOL. I. H

98 SKETCH OF THE

of monks and German mendicants. Mendicityshould be suppressed. The convents ought to

feed and to clothe the poor. The Pope generally

takes the goods of bishops dying intestate. Is

the Pope not yet sufficiently provided for? It is

much more becoming that they should be ap

propriated by the public treasury."

This view of the Roman Catholic church,

exposed by a senator of the realm, before the

king and the assembled states of the country,

contains a censure of that church as bitter as

any Hussite might have uttered on the same

subject. It is no wonder, therefore, that the

reforms proposed by Ostrorog were called byRoman Catholic authors, seeds of disobedience

and rapacity; because their adoption would be

a complete separation from Rome. Although

Ostrorog did not attack the tenets of the Roman

Church, his derision of the indulgences was sap

ping their foundation.

The communion of two kinds which was the

great object of the Bohemian reformers, was left

untouched by Ostrorog ;but his bold accusation

of Roman corruption and abuses, and his decided

demand for their effective redress, exhibit a spirit

of opposition no less daring than that of the

dogmatical reformers of Bohemia.

sketch of the Before we conclude this part of our history, we

church of PO- must give a brief sketch of the oriental church*

in Poland, which extended its domination over


a great part of the country, and constituted an

element hostile to the Roman see.

The Slavonians inhabiting the country from

the lake of Ladoga to Kiof, and from Kiof to the

Dniester and the Carpathian mountains, beingconverted to Christianity by the influence of

Constantinople, entered the communion of the

eastern church. They were divided into several

tribes, designated by different names, previouslyto the arrival of the Varingians or Normans;but since the establishment of the Varingian

dynasty under Rurik, in the latter part of the

ninth century, they assumed the general denomi

nation of Russians. The successors of Vladimir

the Great, who divided his extensive empire,

formed many independent principalities, extend

ing from the banks of the Volga to the Carpathian

ridge; but although those principalities con

tinued under the same general denomination of

the Russian ones, and were ruled by princes

descending from the same Norman dynasty of

Rurik, they were separated not only politically,

but also as regards the origin of their respective

populations. The north-eastern principalities

as, for instance, those of Vladimir, Rezan, Twer-were inhabited by a Slavonian race, differing

much in their habits and dialect from the Sla

vonians of the south-western regions. Besides

the Slavonians, the population of the above-men

tioned principalities was composed of a strong

ii 2

100 SKETCH OF THE

admixture of Finnish race, entirely distinct from

the Slavonian.

The south-western principalities, as those of

Kiof, Lutzk, Halich, were inhabited by Slavo

nians to whom Nestor gives the names of Folane,

Tivertzec, Buzane, derived, as he says, from local

circumstances, and whom he positively states to

be the same as the Lechs or Poles inhabiting

the banks of the Vistula. The Mongols having

established their domination about the middle of

the thirteenth century over the north-eastern

principalities, completed their separation from

the south-western, which although ravaged by the

Asiatic invaders, escaped their final domination.

Amongst those principalities the most important

was that of Halich, comprising a vast tract of

rich country situated between Poland, Hungary,and Lithuania. The geographical situation of

that principality established a constant relation

of war and peace with Poland and Hungary, and

separated it from the north-eastern states of Rus

sia in such a manner that there is no trace of any

diplomatical intercourse between them, since the

establishment of the domination of the Mongols.The principality of Halich was united to Poland

in 1340, not by mere conquest, but by the right

of succession to its sovereignty, claimed by Ca-

simir the Great at the extinction of the reigning

family. That wise monarch ensured at once that

important acquisition to his country by confirming


all ancient rights and privileges of the inhabi

tants, and by extending to them all those liberties

which Poland already enjoyed at that time.

The other principalities of south-western

Russia, which since the invasion of the Mongolsremained in a very disturbed state, were overrun

and conquered almost without resistance by

Gedimin, grand-duke of Lithuania, about 1320.

These principalities, which formed the most im

portant provinces of Lithuania, became united

with Poland by the rule ofa common sovereign at

the accession of the Jaguellonian dynasty to the

throne of Poland, 1380. Thus Poland acquired

during the fourteenth century, almost without

drawing the sword, several million subjects pro

fessing the tenets of the Greek church.

The privileges which were granted to the

inhabitants of Halich were suspended by the diet

of Horodlo, in 1413, when the influence of the

clergy wrested from the king Jaguellon a law,

by which all those who did not belong to the

Roman Catholic church were excluded from the

office and dignities of the state. This enactment,

which appears not to have been carried into effect,

was revoked under the reign of Jaguellon s son,

Vladislav of Varna, who restored the followers of

the Greek church to rights equal with those of

the Roman Catholics, by a solemn decree published in 1443.

The first metropolitan of Kiof was instituted

102 SKETCH OF THE

about 990, by the patriach of Constantinople.

Since that time the metropolitans of that city,

who presided over all the churches of Russia,

continued to be consecrated at Constantinople,

and were chosen chiefly amongst Greeks. After

the capture of Constantinople by the Latins,

when the imperial seat, as well as that of the

patriarch, were transferred to Nicea, the metro

politans of Russia were consecrated in that city

until the expulsion of the Latins by Michel

Paleologos, when things returned to their ancient

order. After the destruction of Kiof by the

Mongols, 1240, the metropolitans resided gene

rally at Vladimir, on the Klasma, in the north

western part of Russia, which was the seat of the

grand-duke of Russia, vassal to the successors of

Genghischan. After the union of Kiof and other

principalities of Russia with Lithuania, the

metropolitans of Vladimir, which was absorbed

in progress of time by the growing power of

Moscow, sought to maintain their supremacy over

those parts by all possible means, and sometimes

even resided in the country. Notwithstandingall those efforts, a complete separation between

the Greek churches of Moscow and Lithuania

took place in 1415, when the bishops of the

last-named country assembled at Novogrodek,elected Gregorius Zamblak metropolitan of Kiof,

whose successors continued independent of Mos

cow, acknowledging the spiritual supremacy of


the patriarch of Constantinople as long as theyremained under the domination of Poland. Kiof

was pillaged, in!484, at the instigation of Moscow,

by the chan of Crimea, who sent, as a presentto the sovereign of Moscow, a part of the church-

plate plundered at Kiof.

The Popes have made numerous attempts at

converting the Russian schismatics, as the follow

ers of the eastern church are called by them.

There seems to have been an intercourse be

tween Rome and the grand-duke, Vladimir, whoestablished the Christian religion in Russia, in 988,

as the patriarch of Constantinople advised that

prince to break off every correspondence with

the Pope. A bishop was sent by Benedict the

Eighth to Kiof, but without producing any effect.

The grand-duke of Kiof, Iziaslaf, being expelledfrom his throne and country by his own brother,

in 1073, sought refuge at the court of the emperor,

Henry the Fourth, and dispatched his son to Rome,in order to supplicate Gregorius the Seventh to

restore him to the throne of his country, which

he offered to submit to the papal domination, spi

ritual as well as temporal. Gregorius wrote a

letter, dated 15th May 1075, to Sviatoslaf, brother

of the expelled Iziaslaf, admonishing him to relin

quish the usurped sovereignty ;but the papal

admonitions produced no better effect than the

remonstrances of the emperor, and Iziaslaf havingrecovered his throne after the death of his brother,

104 SKETCH OF THE

thought no more about the Pope, whose protectionhad proved unable to restore him to his throne.

The chronicles mention different attempts of the

Roman see to establish its domination in Russia;

but we are left in the dark whether those negotiations were attended with some temporal success

or not. One circumstance seems to imply that

the popes had enjoyed some influence at Kiof in

the end of the eleventh century, as Ephraim, a

learned Greek, who occupied the metropolitan see

of Kiof, 1090-96, introduced into the Russian

calendar, under the date of the 9th May, the com

memoration of the translation of the reliques of

St. Nicolaus from Lycia to Bari in Italy ;a feast

which is unknown to the old Greek church, but

observed by the Roman. It is very possible that,

during the final separation of the eastern from

the western church, completed by the patriarch

Michel Cerularius, the metropolitan of Russia

was wavering in his allegiance between Constan

tinople and Rome. Be it as it may, the papal

domination could never gain a permanent groundin the Russian principalities, although that of

Halich, situated between the Roman Catholic

countries of Poland and Hungary, and being in

a continual intercourse with them, was the object

of its unceasing efforts. The Hungarians having

occupied Halich under Coloman, tried to subject

the church of that country to Rome;but their

expulsion from the country destroyed the in-


tended connection with Rome. Daniel, sovereign

of lialich, a prince distinguished as a warrior and

a politician, thought that he might derive an ef

fective assistance from the Pope against the ter

rible Mongols, to whom he was obliged to pay

tribute, and do personally homage in the campof Genghischan s grandson, Batoo. He, therefore,

opened a riegociation, 1247, with pope Innocen-

tius the Fourth, who sent a legate to receive

Daniel into the communion of the Roman church,and promised to allow the church of Halich to

retain all such customs and observances which

would not be in direct contradiction to the Romandoctrines. Daniel wavered a long time in declar

ing openly his spiritual allegiance to Rome. At

last, in 1254, he accepted from the Pope a crown,and the other insignia of royalty ; he was crowned

by the legate as king of Halich, and formally ac

knowledged the supremacy of the Roman pontiff;

but as the promised assistance did not arrive, he

broke off, in 1257, the connexion with Rome, and

despised all the menacing letters of Alexander

the Fourth. The Greek clergy of Poland and

Lithuania sent a delegation to the council of Basil

; but they did not come to an understandingabout a union with the western church. At the

council of Florence, when the emperor John Pa-

leologos submitted the oriental church to the

supremacy of Rome, the metropolitan of Moscow,

Isidor, a learned Greek, followed the example of

106 SKETCH OF THE

the emperor, and returned, in 1439, decorated with

the dignity of a cardinal, and invested with the

authority of a legate. He solemnly proclaimedthe union with Rome, on his return through Poland and Lithuania ; but on his arrival to Moscowhe was deposed and imprisoned in a convent,

whence he was fortunate enough at escape. Theunion with Rome produced no immediate effect

on the Greek church of Poland and Lithuania;

it was established there much later, and only then

when the Jesuits having gained a paramount in

fluence in that country, oppressed all religious

persuasions opposed to the papal domination;

but at the epoch when the reformation of Luther

took place, the oriental church in Poland was in

a most flourishing condition, and its tenets were

professed by nearly half of the inhabitants of the

country, amongst whom were many of the noblest

families of the land.*

* Besides the Polish chronicles, we have consulted on that

subject the following works: Karamsin s History of Russia;Strahl s Kirchengeschichte von Russland, Beytrage zur Kir-

chengeschichte in Russland by the same author ; Ecclesiastical

History of Russia, by Platon, metropolitan of Moscow; in

Russian; St. Petersburg, 1811,


PART II.

COMPREHENDING EVENTS FROM 1508 TO THE FINAL

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PROTESTANT DOCTRINES

IN THAT COUNTRY IN 1572.

CHAPTER I.

Reign of Sigismund the First 1508-1548.

We have endeavoured to trace, in the first partof our sketch, the religious state of Poland pre-

vious-ly to the reformation of Luther and Zuin- 6ixteenth cen

glius, who simultaneously attacked the errors

and abuses of the Roman Catholic church; and

we have shown that the domination of that churchin Poland was strongly undermined by the

influence of Bohemian doctrines, as well as bythe liberal institutions of the country. It seems,

however, that the Polish church was unawareof the dangers of its position, and that it supposedthat the storm which had threatened its exist

ence had passed away. Content with having preserved the outward forms of an undisturbed domi

nion, the Roman Catholic clergy of Poland did

not perceive that their moral power was much

108 SKETCH OF THE

weakened, and that the hold which they had

over the minds of the people was considerably

loosened. The synod of Piotrkow, 1510, adoptedsome salutary regulations in order to check the

avarice of the clergy; it ordered, at the same time,

that the prebendary stalls should be given to peo

ple well versed in the law, and that the parish

priests shoud be chosen from amongst pious and

learned clergymen. It prohibited also to the

priests to have in their houses persons infected

with heresy, which is a proof of the existence of

heretics at that time in Poland. A most pre

posterous law, enacted by the edict of 1505,

excluding the. non-nobles from the higher digni

ties of the church, was confirmed by the synodof Lenczyca, in 1523.*

This unjust and impolitic measure adopted

by the Polish church naturally alienated from it

the affections of the excluded class. There were

also some projects respecting a reformation of the

university of Cracow, which was acknowledged to

have many defects, and which probably was the

cause that many youths belonging to the first

* Vide Folumina Legum, par. i. By this law a non-noble could

not become a bishop,, and he who possesed already that dignitycould not advance higher. There were four canonries, however,

left in every diocese, which were to be given only to men of

learning ; and the exclusion from episcopacy was not strictly

adhered to, as we see many bishops who attained that eminent

station, in spite of their low origin.


Polish families resorted for education to foreign

universities, and particularly to that of Strasburg,

notwithstanding they had in their own countryan university decorated with the pompous name of

"the daughter of the Sorbonne." Many Polish

students constantly frequented the high school of

Goldberg, in Silesia, which belonging to the Bohemian brethren, openly taught doctrines con

demned by Rome. A strong feeling against the

ecclesiastical body was manifested at the diets of

1501 and 1505, by attempting to curtail the com

petence of ecclesiastical jurisdiction, although no

legal enactment was made for that purpose. The

public opinion was so strong against the influence

of the clergy, that the decrees of ecclesiastical

courts fell into general contempt. The secular

magistrates assumed a superiority over the spiritual

tribunals, and investigated the competency of

their jurisdiction, as well as the justice of their

decrees, which were generally left unexecuted.

The priestly excommunications, as they did not

imply the loss of political rights, produced no ef

fect whatever.* The influence of the clergy

exacted from Sigismund the First an ordinance,

* By the statute of Vislitza, 1346,, it was enacted, that in a

case when the evidence of an excommunicated person was re

quisite on a judicial trial, and the authority which had excom

municated the witness refused to absolve him, his evidence was

received by the court, and considered as valid as that of anyother person.

110 .SKETCH OF THE

in 1516, which enjoined to the Starosts* to compelthe excommunicated persons to ask for absolution.

The starost who would not execute that order, or

permit himself to examine the decree of the spi

ritual court, was to be excommunicated himself.

This royal mandate could not, however, be

effectual, as, according to our ancient constitution,

an ordinance issued by the king became law only

when it was confirmed by a diet, but which

has never been the case with the above-mentioned

regulation concerning the excommunicated indi

viduals.)

Anti-Romanist Even before Luther had publicly proclaimed

mVo- h*8 animadversions against the abuses of Rome,

they were openly censured in Poland. The works

fh

n

er s

gieforma"

& Vero cultu Dei and de Matrimonio Sacerdo-tion *

turn, which were published at Cracow, in 1504,

contained doctrines which Rome regarded as here

sy. The epistle of Bernard of Lublin to Symon of

Cracow, 1515, positively expresses that "the

* The starosts (capitanei or prcefecti) were of two kinds :

viz. the starosts with a jurisdiction (capitanei castrenses), and

those without jurisdiction. The former were put in command

of castles and towns, and had very extensive authority in those

places ; the latter were only holders of royal estates, for which

they paid to the sovereign a small rent.

f This regulation, published in 1511 at Brest, in Lithuania,

is not inserted amongst the Constitutiones of the Diet, or parlia

mentary bills of the kingdom of Poland, and, consequently, it

is evident that it has never received force of law.

REFORMATION IN POLAND. Ill

Gospels only must be believed, and that human

ordinances may be dispensed with." This was the

effect of the general intellectual movement which

at that time pervaded all Europe, and in which

Poland, impregnated with Hussite opinions,

was certainly not behind the other countries.

The reformation of Luther was rapidly com-

municated to Poland, which had a frequent and !*te [n

.

Polish-

Prussia very

constant intercourse with Germany in general, and soon after theyhad been pro-

Wittenberg in particular, as many young Poles claimed at wit-

resorted to the university of that city. The effects

of the Saxon reformation began, however, to be

manifested at first in Polish-Prussia. This flou

rishing province submitted voluntarily to king

Casimir the Third, in order to escape the oppres

sion of its rulers, the Teutonic knights. After

a long war with the order, Prussia became finally

incorporated with Poland in 1466;

it preserved,

however, all its rights and privileges, and being

peopled chiefly in towns by German settlers it was

German in its language, habits, and relations,

although it politically constituted a part ofPoland.

Dantzic was the chief town of that province,

and, by its favourable situation, the principal

emporium of Poland with the west of Europe.

Its constant intercourse with Germany rendered

it particularly accessible to the doctrines of Luther,

which found there an echo, soon after they had

been proclaimed at Wittenberg. Already (1518) a

monk, called James Knade, a native of Dantzic,

112 SKETCH OF THE

threw off his habit, took a wife, and began publicly

to preach in that city against Rome. Knade was

accused by the bishop of Cujavia, tried, and impri

soned. After some time, however, he was released

from prison, but obliged to leave Dantzic. Heretired to a nobleman named Krokow, living in

the vicinity of Thorn, and quietly preached his

doctrines under the patronage of Krokow, whowas sheltered, by his privileges as a nobleman,

from the persecution of the clergy. The seeds

sown by Knade were not lost at Dantzic;and

John Benchenstein began, in 1520, to attack the

abuses ofRomanism; and his example was follow

ed, in 1522, by John Bonhald, and by the preacherAffairs of Dant- ofSt. Barbara s church, Mathis Benewald in 1523.

John Hegge, surnamed Winkelblack, publicly

preached before the inhabitants of Dantzic the

first anti-romanist sermon. Several other cler

gymen commenced proclaiming similar opinions.

These innovations produced a considerable sensa

tion in Poland, and king Sigismund the First is

sued, on the 23d November 1523, an order to the

town-council of Dantzic, enjoining them to main

tain the existing religion and prohibiting to make

any changes. The council did not entirely fulfil

the royal mandate, and was very probably unable

to do so. It recommended (1524) that the abuses of

the church should be examined with great mode

ration ;and it allowed the monks to preach and

to receive auricular confession. They were only

Z1C.

REFORMATION IN POLAND. 1J3

to be tolerated, however, but neither persecutednor insulted. The council evidently sought to

alleviate the growing irritation of minds againstthe inveterate abuses of the church, by adoptingsome reforms urgently demanded by public opinion. But the dispositions of the inhabitants

of Danzic were not so moderate as those of their

council, and they unanimously required moredecisive reforms. Alexander, a Franciscan monk,and the above-mentioned John Hegge, two bold

reformers, took possession of the churches of St.

Mary and of St. Catherine, at the request of the

parishioners. The town council neither confirmed nor suppressed these proceedings, but the

Polish clergy resolved to put down with a strong-

hand the incipient heresy. The archbishop of

Gniezno, John Laski, repaired himself to Danzic,where he commenced proceedings against the in

novating clergy, ofwhom one called Paul was cast

into prison by his orders. But the fermentation

of minds was so strong at Danzic, that the archbi

shop suspended his proceedings, ordered the imprisoned Paul to beset at liberty, and left the town.This failure of the archbishop emboldened the

reforming party, and they invited Luther to givean organization to the evangelical congregationof their town. Five churches were taken fromRomanist clergymen, and entrusted to such as

favoured reformation. This reform was, however,

very indefinite, and it only sought to remove someVOL. I. I

114 SKETCH OF THE

crying abuses, instead of effecting a thorough

reformation of the church, and promoting the

establishment of a new order based on scriptural

grounds and the practice of the primitive church;

because the ceremonies of the Roman church, as

well as its fundamental dogmas, were preserved

by the Danzic reformers.

The town council of Danzic was thrown into a

very difficult position, being placed between their

duty to the king, \vho had formally prohibited any

innovations, and the inhabitants of the city, whose

antiromanist bias grew every day more decided.

They never originated any change, but acknow

ledged those that were made without requiring

their advice. It seems, however, that they were

afraid that these religious innovations might lead

to political changes, and that their oligarchical

power might be destroyed by the infusion of

democratic elements. The dangers which they

apprehended were accelerated by an untimely

display of authority. Having imprisoned some

of the most daring reformers, they excited an

insurrection. The armed inhabitants took possession of the town, and twelve principal citizens

required the council, on the 22d of January1525, to call a general meeting, in order to proclaim a reformation of the church. This meeting

adopted some exceedingly moderate regulations.

The monastic orders were still to be tolerated, but

their members were at liberty to leave them.


The monks were prohibited to preach even in

private, to collect alms, and to say nightly masses.

New novices were not allowed to be received;mass was preserved, and nothingwas to be touched

in the churches until the pleasure of the king of

Poland should be known. The council approvedall those regulations in order to calm the insur

gents ;but their ready compliance, where in fact

they could not oppose, was unable to avert political innovations. Four thousand armed inha- Revolutionary

bitants surrounded the Town-hall with pointed Sfectedbytka

cannons, and compelled the council to dissolve

themselves, and to sign a declaration that it was

by their own actions that they had provoked the

insurrection. A new council was elected; but the

former burgomaster, Bishoff, was re-elected, havingsucceeded by his adroit conduct in becoming po

pular with the movement party, and to preserve at

the same time his favour with the aristocracy of

the city and the Roman Catholics. The newcouncil, urged by the inhabitants, extended further

the hitherto insignificant measures of church

reformation. The monastic establishments were

closed;

the Roman Catholic mode of worshipwas entirely abolished

;the treasures of the

church declared public property, but left un

touched. The convents and other edifices devoted

to the use of the clergy were converted into

schools and hospitals. The council, as well as

the inhabitants, anxious to prove that the reforms

i 2

116 SKETCH OF THE

introduced by them related only to religious

matters, and had no political character, sent a

message to the king of Poland, declaring their

unshaken allegiance to his crown, and expecting

that he would confirm the new order of things,

which did not impair the rights of his sove

reignty.

Sigismund seems to have been at first unde

cided as to the line of policy which he was to fol

low on that occasion. A war in which he was in

volved at that time with Albert duke of Prussia*

forbad him to resort to any strong measures,

* Since 1466, the possessions of the Teutonic order in

Prussia were divided into two parts : one of them became a

Polish province, and continued under the same dominion till

the partition of 1772, when a part of it was seized by Prussia,

which completed her spoliations by appropriating to itself

the rest of that province, with the town of Danzic, at the

second partition of Poland in 1792. This province, although

forming an integral part of the Polish dominions, preserved,

till its final dismemberment, a separate legislation and adminis

tration, and was considered a dependency of the crown, and

not of the kingdom of Poland. It stood in the same relation to

Poland as that in which the Channel Islands stand to England.The other part of Prussia remained under the dominion of

the Teutonic order after the peace of Thorn in 1466, till 1525,

when the last grand master of the order, Albert ofBrandeburg,

having embraced Lutheranism, it was constituted into a

sovereign hereditary dukedom, but vassal to the crown of

Poland. The supremacy of Poland was resigned by the treaty

of Welilau, in 1666, and in 1701, Prussia was erected into a

kingdom by the emperor Leopold the First.


which, by irritating the minds of the people, mighteasily induce them to raise the banner of revolt,

and join the enemy. The example of Danzic

might be imitated by Thorn, Elbing, and other

cities of Polish Prussia, and even alienate all the

inhabitants of that important province from the

Polish domination. These considerations were

probably the motives which induced the king to

temporise till he had concluded peace with the

duke Albert. The general conduct of Sigismundthe First towards the adherents of reformed doc

trines, which under his reign spread rapidly over

all the Polish dominions, induces us to think that

he would have abstained from every violent pro

ceeding, had he not been prompted by political

considerations to repress by force a revolutionarymovement which, having effected the separationfrom the church of one of the principal cities of

the land, might easily have led to its alienation

from the empire. A deputation of the ancient town

council of Danzic, dressed in mourning, appearedbefore the monarch, supplicating him to save the

city, which was going to be utterly ruined by the

introduction of heresy, and to restore by his own

authority the ancient order of things; they assured

him at the same time that the ancient senate or

council, the principal citizens, and a great part of

the inhabitants, were favourable to such a restora

tion. The king issued a mandate, enjoining the in

habitants of Danzic to restore the ancient religious

118 SKETCH OF THE

and political order, and to abolish all the innova

tions. The council, in its own name and in that

of the inhabitants, presented a justification of their

proceedings. The members of the council were

summoned to appear before the tribunal of the

king ;but as they did not obey the summons, the

Diet assembled at Piotrkow, in February 1526,

pronounced a decree of outlawry against Danzic,

and abolished its privileges and franchises, unless

the ancient order of things should be restored.

The same Diet authorised the king s journey to

Danzic, in order to pacify that city ;but it ordered

no levy of troops, and it was understood that this

affair should be arranged by conciliatory means.

Division and uncertainty prevailed amongst the

inhabitants of Danzic when the king arrived,

at the beginning of April, at JVlarienburg. The

staunch adherents of reformation foresaw the

danger that threatened the newly-established

order, and advised the gates of the city to be shut,

the inhabitants to be armed, and every means

prepared for a desperate resistance ;but the bur

gomaster Bishoff, who secretly favoured the an

cient order ofthings, dissuaded them from adoptingsuch a bold line of conduct, which would have

ensured favourable terms for the reforming party;

the inhabitants of Danzic therefore decided on a

middle course, and resolved to give admission to

the monarch, but at the same time to take some

measures of defence. Salicetus, one of the prin-

REFORMATION IN POLAND. 1 19

cipal leaders of the reforming party, was delegated

to compliment the monarch on his arrival. He was

received with courtesy, and even admitted to the

royal council during a deliberation on the best

means to arrange the misunderstandings ;he re

turned therefore with the conviction that the king

would agree to maintain, although with some mo

difications, the newly-established religious and

political order. Several dignitaries of the state

preceded the arrival of the monarch, who made

his entrance on the 17th April, and was received

in a respectful and solemn manner by the armed

citizens, who presented an aspect resembling

rather the hostile array of an army than a com

mercial community. When the king ordered the

people to be disarmed, the cannons to be with

drawn, and the keys of the city gates to be deliver

ed to him, he met with a respectful but decided

denial. The council refused to make any conces

sions whatever;but took no necessary measures

to prevent the king from overturning the existing

order, which Sigismund formed the project of

doing in a bold and decisive manner. The

armed retainers of his lords continually, but

quietly, entered the city ;the Catholic nobles

of Polish Prussia arrived in great force, and the

vassal dukes, Albert of Prussia and Barnim of

Pomerania, brought their troops.

Secured by a formidable array of forces, prompt- Sigismund the

, 4l

J. ., First, king of

ed by the members or the ancient council, as Poland, sup-

120 SKETCH OF THE

presses by a well as by many chief citizens, averse to the new

thority the

d

Re- form of government more than to the religiousformation and i i i , Tthe new poii- changes, and observing a great disunion amongst

the reforming party, king Sigismund the First1 "

resolved to restore the ancient order in religionstate of things, and politics, by a display of royal authority. The

members of the ancient and new council, as well

as the heads of the several companies of trades

and artisans, were summoned before the king, and

being demanded by the court marshal Kmita

whether they had preserved their allegiance to the

monarch, renewed their oath of fidelity. Thereformers were terror-struck by the overwhelmingforces of the king, and when a motion was made

in the council to restore the Roman Catholic

worship, it did not meet with any opposition. The

king ordered Salicetus, as well as twenty of the

principal leaders of the movement, to be impri

soned, and thirty others, who fled, were summonedto appear before the royal tribunal. They were

tried, fifteen of them beheaded, and the rest exiled.

The fate of Salicetus, the chief promoter of the

revolution, is particularly interesting. He demand

ed to plead his cause himself before the king, and

was permitted to do so. In the presence of the

principal citizens of the town, he defended his

case with great eloquence, asserting that in all

his actions he did nothing but execute the will of

the majority of the inhabitants. But the burgomaster BishofF, who had feigned to be a friend


to the Reformation, stood up as his accuser, and

charged him with having, by his own authority,taken the gold and silver vessels of the churches,

preached Lutheranism to the people, and erected

a gallows and scaffold before his tribunal. Sali-

cetus appealed to the evidence of the citizens

there present, that he had acted by their consent

and authorization : but those wretches, acting under

the influence of terror, denied his statement, uponwhich Salicetus discontinued his defence, and

calmly resigned himself to his fate.*

A new council was elected, and it confirmed

without opposition the re-establishment of the

ancient religious and political order. Severe re

gulations were enacted by the triumphant Romanists, in order to prevent a new revolution.

Whoever refused to return into the pale of the

church during the space of a fortnight, was to

leave the town under the penalty of death. Themonks and nuns who had broken their vows

were condemned to banishment. The propagationof doctrines opposed to the Roman Catholic

church, either public or private, was prohibitedunder pain of death and confiscation of property ;

* Vide Raynaldus, Bzovius, Koyalowicz, Bielski, ad ann.

1526. Friese Beytrage zur Reformations Geschichte, vol. i.

Hartknoch Preussische kirchen geschichte. Chytreus RerumPrussicarum. Schiksale der Dissidenten in Poland, &c. &c. The

Roman Catholic writers are unanimous with the Protestant

authors in relating this transaction.

122 SKETCH OF THE

Reasons for

believing that

this reaction

was broughtabout by poli

tical, and not

religious motives.

even every publication, image, or print against the

Roman Catholic church was to be punished by

exile and confiscation of property ;whoever dared

to have any communication with the exiles was

to forfeit his property. The captains of vessels

were obliged to answer for the orthodoxy of their

crews. The rights of citizenship were to be given

only to Catholics ofunsuspected faith. A meeting

of three or four men or women, with a view of

changing the established order, was punishable

with death, and every stranger who endeavoured

to spread false doctrines could be arbitrarily

punished by the authorities of the town.*

King Sigismund left Danzic in the month of

July 1526, after having effected a sanguinary

counter-revolution, which, as we have already

expressed, was caused rather by political than

religious grounds. Indeed, we can scarcely have

any doubt that the fear of a dangerous example,

which Dantzic would have given to the other

parts of the Polish dominions, by the subversion

of the existing form of government, and the

introduction of a new one, acted more powerfully

on the king s mind than the anxiety to preserve

* Vide Volumina Legum, ordinatio civitatis Gedanensis, anno

1526. This iniquitous ordinance, which by the rapid progress

of Protestant doctrines became soon a dead letter, was abro

gated by an ordinance of king Sigismund Augustus, formally

granting the free exercise of religion to Danzic and other towns

of Polish Prussia.


unimpaired the domination of the Roman Catho

lic church, which began at that time to be assailed

in all parts of Poland. We are confirmed in our

opinion that the above-mentioned reaction was

produced by political and not religious motives,

by the important circumstance, that Albert duke

of Prussia, who had himself recently embraced

Lutheranism, and established it as a dominant

religion in his states, lent a ready assistance to

king Sigismund the First against the reformers

of Danzic. The same ordinance, the severe regu

lations ofwhich against the opponents of Romanism we have quoted, concentrated the governmentof the city in the hands ofa few, carefully excluding

the multitude from any share in public affairs.

The subsequent conduct of Sigismund manifested

throughout his reign a great toleration of religious

opinions, whenever they did not interfere with

the public order and the authority of the monarch.

We have even a public avowal of Sigismund s

apprehensions lest the religious changes might

be conducive to the subversion ofpolitical order *

* The territorial councils of Polish Prussia having refused

to pay the tithes to the bishop of Vladislav, king Sigismund

expressed, in his ordinance ofJanuary 1528, at Piotrkow, the

following opinion :" Docentes nos quasi novum aut desultorium

Christianum de lege gratia, de sublato sacerdotio levitico, de non

contribuendo Pastoribus nisi pascant, et aliis Iritis aposolarum

cantilenis non temperantes interim ab aculeis in suum Episcopum.

Qua: est ista nova Christiana ratio si per legcm gratia liber

est populus, a solvendis decimis, eadem lege liber est crit a solvendis

triluiis

124 SKETCH OF THE

Spread of LU- The effects of Luther s reformation on Polishtheranism in

other parts of Prussia were not confined to Dantzic, but simulta-Polish Prussia.

neously spread over many parts of that province.

The reformed doctrines began to be propagatedat Thorn in 1520 and in 1521. Although there

was not yet any congregation publicly professing

those doctrines, they were so popular with the

inhabitants of the town, that when Zacharias

Fereira, legate of the Pope, arrived in the above-

mentioned year at Thorn, and proceeded to burn

with great solemnity before the church of St. John

the portrait and the writings of Luther, they pelted

him and his assistants with stones, and having

compelled them to flee, saved Luther s portrait

from the flames. A riot which was occasioned in

that city in 1525, by the inhabitants, who loudly

demanded the introduction of the reformation,

was appeased by the authorities with conciliatory

tributis, quce aliis ordinibus aut potestatibus debentur. Si non

pendendum est pastori nisi pascat et doceat, non pendendum sit

etiam a plebe suus census ordini aut statui militari nisi militet,

populum del tuetur. At que hce sunt ilia evangelicte rationes, quce

mine orbem terrarum tumultibus perjuriis ac sacrilegiis implent

tales litteras talibus impiis dogmatibus consutos miseretis." vol.

leg. 1. Raynaldus ad ann. 1528. The territorial councils of

Prussia, which demanded the abolition of tithes, maintained at

that time the customary forms of Roman Catholic worship.

It is remarkable that Sigismund, who had violently suppressed

the reformation at Danzic in 1526, combated only by reason

ings, in 1528, the attacks of the Prussians on a very essential

part of the Roman Catholic church establishment.


means. At Elbing, a strong inclination towards

the reformed doctrines was publicly manifested

in 1523. At Braunsberg, the seat of the bishop of

Warmia,orErmeland, Lutheran worship was pub

licly introduced as early as 1520, and the bishop,

Lusignan, made no attempt at persecuting the

reformers. He seems to have been favourably

inclined to Luther; because when the canons of his

chapter reproached his toleration, he answered

them, that Luther founded all that he advanced

on the scriptures, and that whoever felt himself

competent to the task, should refute his assertions.

Many other towns of Prussia were introducing

reformation, but since its violent suppression at

Danzic in 1526, a Roman Catholic reaction took

place over all that province, and the ancient modeof worship was almost every where re-established.

This reaction, however, did not produce any

lasting effect in Polish Prussia, and the seeds of

reformation had already struck root in that

province too deeply to be eradicated by any legal

enactments.

Notwithstanding the severe regulations of 152G, a Their revival at

Dominican monk called Klein began to preach at

Danzic, in 1534, scriptural doctrines, but without

openly separating himself from theRoman church.

In 1537 he abandoned the monastic habit, and be

ing nominated by the authorities ofthe city preacherof the church of St, Mary, he ejected the imagesfrom that temple, and introduced the Lutheran

SKETCH OF THE

mode of worship. This decided innovation was

neither approved nor condemned by the town

council, and the king paid no more attention to

it, but contented himself by issuing an order pro

hibiting violent publications against the church

of Rome. The daily progress of reformation in

Danzic induced Sigismund to nominate a com

mission of bishops, who arrived at Danzic, and

began their proceedings by imprisoning Klein;

but public opinion at that place was already so

strong in favour of the Reformation, that the

bishops were obliged to release Klein, who re

mained unmolested till his death, in 1546, and to

retire without producing any effect whatever. Thereformed doctrines also gained ground in manyother towns of Prussia, and received a strong im

pulse by the arrival of the Bohemian brethren,

in 1548;a circumstance of which we shall have an

opportunity to speak hereafter, as well as of the

final triumph of Lutheranism in Polish Prussia.

The doctrines The duchy of Mazovia, bordering on Prussia,of the reforma-

tion met with and at that time not yet united with Poland,*little success in

the duchy of adopted very severe measures against the intro

duction of the reformed doctrines. Duke Janusz

proclaimed, at the diet of Warsaw, a regulation

* The duchy of Mazovia formed a separate state since the

partition of Poland by Boleslav the Third, or Wrymouth, be

tween his four sons, in 1139. It was united with Poland 1526,

a few months after the restoration of Romanism at Danzic,

when its last duke, Janusz, died without issue.


prohibiting the propagation of heresy, in whatever

language, or by whatever means, under painof death and confiscation of property; the prohibition extended to the reading and possession of

suspicious works, and no condition or dignity,however high, could screen the offenders from

punishment. Whether owing to the severity of the

law, or to the comparatively lower degree of the

general information of the inhabitants of that partof Poland, the reformed doctrines never gainedground in Mazovia, although there were manyindividual conversions to Protestantism. TheMazovian nuncios distinguished themselves by

constantly advocating the cause of Rome at the

Diets, and it is supposed that amongst the motives

which prompted Sigismund the Third to transfer

the royal residence from Cracow to Warsaw, the

capital of Mazovia, the orthodoxy of thatprovincewas a reason no less powerful in the eyes of that

bigoted monarch, than the central position of the

new metropolis.

The Roman Catholic clergy of Poland having Different reso-

obtained a signal, although momentary triumph bytheR. c.

over the reformed doctrines in Polish Prussia, ^noilwsought by every possible means to prevent the p^gre^s of the

spread of heresy, and to extirpate it altogetherReformation -

from all the Polish dominions. Many books were

published in Poland against Luther and his doc

trines. The synod of Lenczyca, in 1527, recom

mended the re-establishment ofthe tribunal of the

128 SKETCH OF THE

Holy Inquisition, subject to the authority of the

bishops. It recommended also some measures more

congenial with the nature of an ecclesiastical au

thority, as for instance, that the bishops should

appoint learned preachers to guide the people

with a sound doctrine, avoiding all kind of scho

lastics, more apt to destroy than to edify the faith

ful.*

The synod of Piotrkow, in 1530, particularly

enjoined measures to prevent the introduction of

heretical writings. The synod of Lenczyca, 1532,

recommended the adoption of the most severe mea

sures against the heretics.!The same synod and

that of Piotrkow endeavoured to introduce some

reforms amongst the clergy, but particularly to

render effective the ecclesiastical jurisdiction.

But the synod which made the most importantenactments in order to suppress the rapidly grow

ing heresy is that which was held at Piotrkow

in 1542.

Prohibition to The influence of the clergy obtained from KingTolish students ~. . , . -~.

,

. , . ., . .

to frequent Sigismund the rirst, in 1534, an order prohibitingan

the Polish students from resorting to the foreign

*"Omittentes in concionibus questiones scholasticas et exempla

somniataqu<z

cordes fidelium distrahere potius quam edificare

videntur." Vide Janocki.

f" Ut cunctis hereticis de Jinitus Sarmatice expulsis, populus

Christianus in sinceritatejideipersistat." Constitutiones Syno-dorum.

REFORMATION IX POLAND. 129

universities, conducted by heretical professors,

and recalling all those who studied there. The

youths who, disregarding the royal injunction,

should continue their studies in the prohibited

academies, were to be punished by the exclusion

from all dignities and offices;and those who

should repair thither in spite of the prohibition,

were to be subjected to still heavier penalties.

This ordinance could not, however, produce any

effect, as it had no force of law, not having been

confirmed by the Diet, and consequently was not

obligatory, particularly on the nobles, who, shel

tered by their constitutional privileges from every

arbitrary restriction, continued to frequent the

prohibited universities, and particularly that of

Wittenberg, the cradle and the seat of Luther-

anism. The ordinances against the Anabaptists,

published at Cracow in 1535, and against the Lu

therans, published at Vilna the same year, as well

as that by which, in 1541, the king menaced to

punish with loss of nobility all those who should

have in their houses heretical priests, remained

likewise a dead letter. This is sufficiently proved

by the acts of the above-mentioned synod of

Piotrkow, which passed a resolution that the

king should be requested to carry into execution

his own ordinances against heresy. The same

synod enacted that parents should be prohibited from sending their children to the heretical

schools;the reading of the works of Luther and

VOL. I. K

130 SKETCH OF THE

Melancthon, which had been done by many under

the pretence of confuting them, was prohibited ;

and recommended to search the houses of the in

habitants in order to discover heretical writings.

The local authorities were also ordered to keep a

watchful eye over the booksellers and printers, to

confiscate the suspicious works, and to punish sum

marily the offenders. This enactment was, how-

A royal ordi- ever, insufficient to enslave the press, as it hadnance estab

lishes the li- been declared free by a royal decree of 1539.berty of the . .

pressin Poland The Bohemians, who were frequently employed in

Poland as tutors, became the objects of particular

animadversion with the above-mentioned synod,

which moreover enjoined that the existence of

Hussites, their conventicles, and their writings,

should be the subjects of investigation. The same

synod recommended the regulations of the Holy

Inquisition as an example to be followed, and a rule

to be adopted, in all proceedings against heresy

and heretics. The synod of Piotrkow, in 1544,con

firmed the enactments of that of 1542, with some

new injunctions against the studying at the Luthe

ran universities in Germany. All those enactments

which the above-mentioned synods had proclaim

ed against the reformed doctrines, were entirely

fruitless, as the constitutional liberties of the

country, which carefully circumscribed the eccle

siastical jurisdiction, rendered it almost impossible for the clergy to persecute those whom they

considered as heretics deserving of the most severe


punishment.* And the synod of Piotrkow, 1547,

was obliged to confess that the church was in

great danger from heresy, which had spread over The Diet of

.

*.

Cracow in 1 543,

every diocese, and even infected the clergy itself, grants to the

.__T

inhabitants of

We must add, that at the Diet of Cracow, in 1543, Poland the

the freedom of studying in the foreign universities studying at the

was formally granted to all Polish subjects.!

1 The acts of many synods, held during that period, are full

of complaints against the contempt with which the authority of

he ecclesiastical courts was treated. Several enactments of the

Polish legislation evince a strong jealousy and hostile feeling

against the clergy. The Diet of 1538 prohibited, under severe

penalties, to the Polish clergy to receive any dignities from the

apostolical see, a prohibition which was repeated many times

afterwards. The annates were abolished in 1543. The estates of

the church were subjected to the general taxes in 1544; and in

1565 it was enacted that a clergyman guilty of any crime or

offence, should be tried by the ordinary tribunal, and not by the

ecclesiastical courts.

(We must not omit a remarkable event which happened at

Cracow under the reign of Sigismund the First. Catherine

Weygel, wife of Melchior Weygel, a goldsmith and alderman of

Cracow, a woman eighty years of age, was tried before the

ecclesiastical court on a charge of apostasy to the Jewish reli

gion. When inquired of about her creed, she answered :

" I be

lieve the existence of one God, who has created all the visible

and invisible world, who cannot be conceived by human intel

lect." But she is said to have denied the truths revealed by the

Gospel. She persevered in her opinion, notwithstanding the ad

monitions of her judges, who represented to her the dangerous

consequences of her conduct, and was burnt in the market-placeof Cracow. Gornicki, a contemporary historian, who relates that

event, says that she suffered death with the most heroic cou-

K 2

132 SKETCH OF THE

sigis-After having enumerated the principal mea-

mund the 1st. &ures relating to the religious matters which were

adopted in Poland under the domination of Si-

gismund the First, we shall endeavour to give a

sketch of the personal character and opinions of

that monarch, as they necessarily exercised a

marked influence over the fate of the reformed

doctrines, which under his reign gained groundin Poland.

Sigismund the First ascended the throne of

Poland after the demise of his brother Alexan

der in 1506, when he was already forty years old.

He had received an excellent literary education,

under the tuition of the celebrated Italian scholar

Philip Buonaccorsi, better known under the

assumed name of Callimachus Experiens, who,

obliged to flee from his own country, found an

honourable reception at the court of Casimir the

rage. The acts of the consistory of Cracow record the crime

imputed to that unfortunate woman exactly as it is described

by Gornicki. Vide Bandke s History of Poland, vol. ii. page

109, third edition in Polish. But StanislavBudzinski, a Socinian

writer, who calls her Zalaszowska, pretends that she was the

first Socinian in Poland. Vide Supplement to Sandius Nucleus

histories ecclesiastics exhibitus in historia Arianorum, aim.

1676, page 86. Lubieniecki maintains that she denied only the

dogma of transubstantiation. The execution of that deluded

woman, so contrary to the national character, was chiefly caused

by the influence of Gamrat, a favourite of queen Bona, whose

influence raised him to the episcopal see of Cracow, and who

was notorious for his profligate life.

REFORMATION IN TOLAND. 133

Third, king of Poland, who intrusted him \vitii

the education of his sons. He was of a noble,

upright character, gifted with great personal as

well as moral courage, which he displayed on

many a trying occasion; but the leading feature

of his character was indolence, and a goodnessof heart which often degenerated into weakness

;

two qualities characteristic of the Jaguellonian

family. This circumstance accounts for the

wavering line of conduct which that monarch

constantly pursued in matters relating to the

religious discussions which began to agitate the

Polish dominions under his reign. He frequently

proclaimed most severe ordinances against re

ligious innovations, in order to satisfy the

importunities of the clergy and some bigottedsenators

;but he never put them into execution,

except in the case of Danzic, which, as wehave already shown, was considered in a poli

tical, and not a religious point of view. WhenNicolaus Bedlinski, inquisitor of Cracow, declared

James of Ilza, preacher of St. John s church,in that city, an avowed heretic, tiie king inter

fered, and would not allow him to be punished.When the celebrated adversary of Martin Luther, John Eck, or Eckius, dedicated to Sigis-

mund his work against Luther, engaging him

to persecute the heretics, and recommending to

him as an example deserving of imitation the

conduct of Henry the Eighth, king of England,

134 SKETCH OF THE

who was at that time much opposed to Luther,

and had himself just published a work against

the German reformer, Sigismund answered, that

he wished to be monarch equally of sheep and

goats.* Some grandees, as Gorka, Ostrorog, &c.

* Ad invictissimum Polonies regem Sigismundum de Sacri-

jicio misses contra Lutheranos, lib. ii. Johanne Eckio authore

J526. The dedication is dated 15th February, Ingolstadt.

The passage of the king s answer to which we have alluded

is as follows. (( Fluere scecula et in illis mutantur regna,

mentes legumlatorum. Obsolete erunt nuper scientific, mine

renascuntur. Scribal rex Henricus contra Martinum. Permittas

mihi Jieri oviurn et hircorum regem. Obsecro superos ut velint

jungere studium Leonis decimi pietatis. Leonis primi. Si verd

corruptio pro moribus, scandalum pro edi/icatione, inter Chris-

tianos habendcs sint, venient infausta tempora, ubi rex et

pastor gregis Christi squallido erunt induti thorace." Wemust confess that the passage we have just now quoted bears

the stamp, not so much of that toleration which is inspired

by the true spirit of Christian charity, as of a philosophical

indifference about religious matters, of which the learned

Italians of that period were generally accused. Vide Hallam s

Introduction to the Literature of Europe of the Fifteenth

Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, vol. i. page 504. Whether

that accusation was just or unjust, it \vould be foreign to

our subject to investigate ; we shall only add that Sigis-

mund s tutor, Buonaccorsi, belonged to a society which

particularly laboured under that charge; vide Sismo?idi, His-

toire de la Litterature du Midi, vol. ii. page 184. We cannot

omit relating an anecdote of the same monarch, which must

have given great offence to the bigotted Romanists. Whenthe archbishop Laski boasted before him of having covered

the church-yard of his hereditary town, Lask, with earth

brought from Jerusalem, the king said :

" You would have

done

INFORMATION IN POLAND. 135

having openly embraced the reformed doctrines,

were anathematized by the clergy, but conti

nued to enjoy the favour of the sovereign, and

were employed in places of trust and confi

dence. Albert of Brandeburg, nephew to king

Sigismund, and grand master of the Teutonic

Knights of Prussia, put an end to the existence

of that order in 1524, by marrying a wife,

and embracing Lutheranism. Albert s changeof religion was followed by all the possessions

of the order, and Sigismund sanctioned that

revolution by a treaty, in 1525, which is the

first instance of secularization in history, and bywhich Lutheranism was for the first time diplo

matically acknowledged as an established re

ligion.* A proof that he was not considered byhis contemporaries as very bigotted is, that the

Protestant princes of Germany sought to prevail

upon him, by the offer of great advantages,to enter the ligue, of Smalcalden, formed for the

defence of Protestantism.f Sigismund married,after the demise of his first queen Barbara,

done much better by manuring your sandy grounds with the

rich soil of Proszowice," a district celebrated for itsfertility.


\ This fact is related by the biographer of Commendoni,vide Vie de Commendoni par Gratiani, French translation,

page 177. Gratiani, who visited Poland some time after the

death of Sigismund the First, gives a very incorrect description of the character of that monarch, as well as of the

religious

136 SKETCH OF THE

daughter to Stephen Zapolia, Waywode of Tran

sylvania, Bona Sforza, princess of Milan.* Hewas at that time (1519) fifty-three years old, and

he soon fell under the entire domination of his

young queen, who was remarkable for her beauty

and accomplishments. These advantages which

Bona possessed were, however, more than coun

terbalanced by her bad qualities, for she was a

princess of a most perverse character;dissolute

in her manners, ambitious of power, and greedy

of money. The many abuses caused by the

influence of that unprincipled queen, who en

tirely ruled the country during the latter part

of her uxorious husband s reign, rendered Si-

gismund odious to the nation, although, pre

viously to his second marriage, he had been

universally beloved; and it was only after his

death that his subjects, forgetting the frailties

of their monarch, and remembering only his

virtues, sincerely lamented the loss of the once

popular sovereign. The conduct of Bona towards

the Protestants was very unequal, being regu

lated by motives of expediency, as well as bythe freaks of a corrupted woman s passion ;

for

religious affairs during his reign. It is evident that Gratiani

derived all his information from some bigotted Catholics.

* Bona was the daughter of John Galeazzo Sforza, duke of

Milan, and of Isabella of Arragon, daughter of Alphonse the

Second, king of Naples.


it is almost impossible to admit that religious

feeling could have any hold whatever on the influence of

i ~ . queen Bona onmind of one who manifested such an utter the affairs of

i -if i Protestantism.

disregard of every principle, as queen Bonadid during all her life-time. Being under the

constant influence of the Spanish court, with

which she was nearly related, Bona s inclina

tions were naturally against every innovation

in religious matters;but it frequently happened

that those who favoured the new doctrines

were necessary to the attainment of her ends,

and she did not scruple to abet heresy, in

order to convert heretics into useful tools for

the promotion of her own designs. Her ownconfessor, Lismanini, was one of the chief promoters of the reformed doctrines at Cracow,and it was the queen herself who afforded himfacilities of getting from abroad books contain

ing the above-mentioned doctrines. Besides

those reasons which guided the conduct of the

queen, there were motives no less powerfulwhich acted on the heart of the woman : a

guilty passion attached Bona to John Firley,one of the most conspicuous amongst the Polish

grandees, for his accomplishments and personal

appearance. Firley, who was invested with the

important dignities of the palatine of Lublinand marshal of the court, openly professed the

reformed doctrines, and became under the en

suing reign the leader of the Protestant nobility.

138 SKETCH OF THE

All those circumstances concurred in rendering

the influence of Bona harmless to the progress

of the reformation in Poland;an influence which

would have not failed to do them the greatest

injury, if that wily queen had made them an

object of her hostility.

Such was the state of Poland when the doctrines

of the Reformation began to penetrate into that

country. It was in the province of great Poland,

bordering on Germany, and where the doctrines

of Huss had made a strong impression, that

Protestantism was publicly manifested for the

first time by the opening of a Lutheran church,

(1530-40,) under the patronage of the influential

family of Gorka, who had embraced the doc

trines of the Saxon reformer. But the most

important circumstance which gave a strong

impulse to the development of religious opinions

in Poland, took place at Cracow, where a so

ciety formed itself in order to propagate the

secret society doctrines of the Gospel. This society was

theoiogSsSb- composed of the most eminent scholars of that

ie

dat Cracow!" time, united amongst themselves by the ties of

personal friendship. It was in appearance strictly

Roman Catholic, and sought only to effect such

reforms as would not in the least affect its ortho

doxy. The Italian, Francis Lismanini, provin

cial of the Franciscan order, chaplain and

confessor to queen Bona, was the leader of that

assembly, which numbered amongst its members


John Trzecieski, or Tricesius, the first grammarian of his country ;

his son Andreas Trzecieski,

also an eminent scholar and great linguist, and

Bernard Wojewodka, a learned bookseller and

alderman of Cracow, both pupils of Erasmus;

Andreas Frycz Modrzewski, or Modrevius, pupilof Melancthon, of whom we shall have an

ample opportunity to speak hereafter; James

Przyluski, an eminent lawyer; Adam Drzewie-

cki, canon of the cathedral of Cracow; Andreas

Zebrzydowski, afterwards bishop of Cracow, and

favourite pupil of Erasmus; John Uchanski,

referendary of the crown, and afterwards arch

bishop of Gnezno; and many other persons

distinguished by their talents, learning, and rank

in society.

Lismanini possessed a large library of anti-ro-

manist books, and he constantly received everynew

publication of that kind. At the meetings of the

society, he expounded to its members different

points of divinity. The Roman Catholic tenets

which have no scriptural foundation were boldly

attacked in the learned discussions of that so

ciety ; but, unfortunately, some of its memberscarried much too far their theological specu

lations, and began openly to broach anti-trini-

tarian doctrines. It was at a meeting held in

the library of John Trzecieski that a certain

priest, called Pastoris, a native of Belgium, at

tacked the mystery of the trinity, as being incon-

140 SKETCH OF THE

sistent with the unity of the Supreme Being. This

doctrine, new at that time in Poland, although

broached already in the works of Servetus, startled

in such a manner the members present, that they

became mute with astonishment, perceiving with

terror that such a proposition would lead to the

subversion of revealed religion. This doctrine,

adopted by several members of the above-men

tioned society, laid in Poland the foundation of

that sect whose opinions became afterwards

known under the name of Socinianism, although

neither Lelio nor Faustus Socinus may be con

sidered as its true founders. The same daring

propositions had undoubtedly the effect of fright

ening many timorous minds, and of deterring

them from any further attempt against the abuses

and errors of Romanism, so that they preferred

to remain in the pale of the established church,

in spite of its acknowledged aberrations, rather

than to venture on a dangerous course which

might lead them to a pure deism, and reduce the

gospel to a simple code of morality. There were

many however who, firm of mind and inspired

with true piety, resolved to search the truth, not

by the sole guidance of human reason, but by the

test of the Holy Scriptures.*

* It has been described by several authors ; but the best

account of it is given by Wengierski, in his History of the

Reformed Church of Cracow.


The real tendency of the society which wehave described was, notwithstanding its apparent

compliance with the established church, soon

discovered by the bishop of Cracow, Samuel

Maciejowski. Having received positive infor

mation about the heretical opinions of Lismanini,

he ordered his library to be searched;but Lisma

nini, being informed of the impending danger,

removed in time all the suspicious works, so that

when the investigation of his library took place,

nothing was found that might cast a suspicion

on the orthodoxy of its owner. The bishop re

mained, however, persuaded ofLismanini s heresy;

and when he was commissioned to go to Romein order to congratulate Julius the Third on his

accession to the pontifical throne, Maciejowski

represented him as a dangerous heretic, capableof overthrowing the Roman Catholic church in

Poland. Lismanini, however, being apprized byhis friends of the danger which threatened him

from that quarter, succeeded by his adroitness in

neutralizing the effects of the bishop s accusations,

and returned safely to Poland from his mission

to Rome. The spirit of religious investigation

which animated the members of the society wehave described

, began to manifest itself by overt

attacks on the Roman Catholic church. John

Karminski, a rich landowner andparticular friend

of Lismanini, received in his estate called Alex-

142 SKETCH OF THE

androvitze, not far from Cracow, several persons

who openly abandoned the communion of Rome.

A clergyman who had been a preacher of the

cathedral church at Cracow, publicly inveighed

at Alexandrovitze against Romish idolatry, and

recommended the reading of the gospels. This

clergyman, however, being imprisoned by the

ecclesiastical authorities, recanted his doctrines;

but having recovered his liberty and gained the

protection of some powerful lord, he resumed his

opinions.* Franciscus Stancari, an Italian, whowas the first professor of Hebrew at Cracow,

began about that time to attack the worship of

the saints in expounding the psalms to the pupils

of the university; he was imprisoned in the castle

of Lipovietz ;but some nobles favourable to his

opinions carried him away from the fortress, and

he found a safe refuge in the estates of Stadnicki,

a powerful grandee converted to the Protestant

doctrines, who founded a school in his town of

Dubiecko, and gave the superintendence of it to

Stankari4 Martinus Krowicki, a clergyman,

preached against the worship ofsaints and images,

* Lubieniecki and Wengierski, who describe that trans

action, give neither the name of the clergyman, nor that of

the bishop by whom he had been imprisoned. The date of the

event is not clearly defined, but it happened about 1548.

f Dubiecko is situated in the present Galicia, or Austrian

Poland.


as being abuses unknown to tbe primitive church,

and began to say mass in the vernacular tongue.

Another clergyman called Jacobus Sylvius, rector

of Krzemien, was the first who entirely left out

the mass, in 1547. Felix CrucigerofSzczebrzeszyn,rector of Niedzwiedz, in the vicinity of Cracow,

began in 1 546 to expound from the pulpit the purewords of the gospel. Many influential persons

occupying important offices of the state openlyembraced the doctrines of the reformers. Themost prominent of them were, Bonar, castellan

of Biecz;Justus Decius, private secretary to the

king ;Nicolas Olesnicki, lord of Pinczow, a place

which became afterwards celebrated in the annals

of the Polish reformation ;Martinus Zborowski,

castellan of Kalish;

Stanislaw Cikowski, a mili

tary officer, who distinguished himself afterwards

in many wars;

Nicolaus Rey, the first Polish

poet; the powerful families of Szafraniec, Sta-

dnicki, &c. &c.

The conversion to the Protestant doctrines of

several individuals and families occupying high

stations in life, secured the reformers from the

persecution of the Roman Catholic clergy, and

afforded them great facilities for propagatingtheir doctrines. It seems however that, previously

to the year 1548, their opinions, excepting some

few cases, had not assumed any definite form of

creed. They only saw the abuses and errors

144 SKETCH OF THE

of Romanism without having arrived at a clear

perception of evangelical truths, or to any definite

conclusions deduced from scriptural grounds.

They knew what was to be abolished, but not

yet what was to be established. It was only in the

ensuing reign of Sigisrnund Augustus that Pro

testantism assumed any definite form ofcreed. Thedoctrines of Zuinglius and Calvin gained ground

amongst the nobles in preference to Lutheranism,

which spread in towns principally inhabited byGerman settlers, who, through their constant in

tercourse with Germany, were much inclined

towards the doctrines of the reformer of that

country. The daring speculations of the anti-tri-

nitarians, which we have already mentioned as

broached by some members of the society of

Cracow, and which afterwards gave rise to a numerous sect known under the name of Polish

Brethren, or Socinians, spread chiefly amongstthe nobles.

We have had ample opportunity of describingthe influence which the reformation of Huss hadexercised in Poland

;and we must not omit an

important circumstance which greatly contributed

to the establishment of the doctrines professed

by the Bohemian Brethren in our country. Wemean the emigration of that community fromBohemia into Prussia and Poland at the end of

the period which we have now described.


The reformation of Huss had already mani- Account of the* Bohemian

fested, at its very beginning-, some strongly marked Brethren.

differences amongst its followers, which in the

course of time divided them into two parties,

distinguished under the names of Callixtines and

Taborites. The first of these, who received their

name from their insisting on the communion of

two kinds, were much more moderate in their

demands of church reformation than the Tabo-

rites, who gave a complete development to the

doctrines of Wicliff, rejecting every thing which

could not be supported by scriptural authority.

After the death of Ziska, who was the chief of the

Taborites, appeared a third party, called the Or

phans, who kept the middle between the two

other, being bolder than the Callixtines, and more

moderate than the Taborites : but it seems after

wards to have merged into the two above-men

tioned parties.

The separation was completed through the

Compactata of 1433, by which the Council of

Basil admitted the Bohemians into the pale of

the church.*

The Callixtines were ready to acknowledge the

supremacy of the Pope, provided he would con

firm the above-mentioned concessions of the

Council of Basil; but the Taborites rejected those

conditions, considering them, with great reason, as


VOL. I. L

146 SKETCH OF THE

fraught with danger to the reformed religion, and

being fully aware that such an approximation to

the Roman Catholic church would speedily lead

to its complete restoration. The Callixtine party

prevailed, and the Taborites dwindled into a

minority, which, although it lost its political

strength, firmly persevered in adhering to the

pure evangelical doctrines. They changed their

name into that of Bohemian Brethren, about

1440-1450, and in 1456 they began to form a

religious community, separated by definite forms

from the rest of the followers of Huss. In 1458

they experienced a severe persecution in Moravia,

from the Roman Catholics, as well as from the

Callixtines. The persecution was renewed with

increased severity in 1466;but it did not subdue

the religious zeal and courage of the brethren,

whose devotion to their cause grew with the

persecution they suffered for its sake. Theyassembled a synod at Lhota,* and established

their church by electing the elders according to

the custom of the primitive Christians.

Stephen, bishop of the Austrian Waldensians,!ordained the first priests of the new church,

* Lhota is a village near the town of Richow.

f There were many Waldensians at that time in Austria. The

Bohemian Brethren also frequently sent their priests to be(

or-

dained by the Waldensians of Italy. Vide Friese s Beytriige

zu der Reformations geschichte in Polen, vol. i. p. 186-7.


which continued to suffer the most unrelenting

persecution, and was obliged to hold its synodsand to perform divine worship in forests, caverns,

and other hidden places, whilst its persecutedmembers were stigmatised with the names of

Adamites, Picardians, brigands, robbers, and

every kind of contumelious appellation.

Their sufferings were suspended in 1471, by the

accession of the Polish prince Vladislav Jaguel-

lon, to the throne of Bohemia, who immediately

granted to the Bohemian Brethren a full en

joyment of religious liberty. Mathias Corvinus,

king of Hungary, abolished also about that time

the laws which were enacted against them in

Moravia. The brethren began to resume hopesof a more prosperous time to their church,

which in 1500 reckoned two hundred places of

worship. In 1503, the brethren were excluded

from public offices;but the apology of their

creed which they presented to king Vladislav

Jaguellon, persuaded the monarch of their in

nocence, and suspended a persecution which had

already made some victims. The Roman Catholic clergy succeeded again in 1506 in exciting

a severe persecution against the brethren, under

the pretence that the queen, who was about to

be confined, might obtain by that act of piety

a happy deliverance.

The brethren neglected no means in order to

justify themselves from the unmerited odium

L 2

148 SKETCH OF THE

which their detractors continually sought to

throw on them. In 1511 they sent an exposition

of their religion to Erasmus, who did not find

therein any errors." If your community," wrote

that celebrated scholar," elects its priests, it

does not offend by it the customs of the pri

mitive Christians; nor is it to be blamed for

choosing persons without learning, because purity

of life compensates the deficiency of learning."*

In 1522 Luther did not yet comprehend the

tenets of the Bohemian Brethren;his mind seems

to have not yet been at that time entirely eman

cipated from the influence of Romanism, and he

violently abused, in his convivial conversations,

the Bohemian Brethren, whose tenets and system

of hierarchy he regarded with a kind of horror.

But in 1533 Luther was entirely reconciled to the

Bohemians, and wrote himself, in 1535, a preface

to their confession. In 1542 a deputation of the

brethren, amongst whom was the celebrated

George Israel, t visited Luther, who received

them with great distinction, established a spiritual

* Vide Stranski, et Lasitius, edit, by Comenius.

f George Israel was born at Hunnobrod in Moravia in 1500_,

and became pastor of the Bohemian Brethren at Tarnow in Bo

hemia. He distinguished himself by his great learning and

piety. Being expelled from Bohemia in 1548, he arrived in

Poland, where in the space of a few years he established a great

number of churches of the Bohemian Brethren, and became the

first superintendent of their community. He took an active

part


communion with them, and expressed a wish that

they might become the means of converting the

Slavonian nations.* At the accession of the

house of Austria to the throne of Bohemia a severe

persecution was raised against the brethren. TheDiet of Prague enacted severe laws against them ;

and king Ferdinand resolved, in 1544, to extirpate

them entirely. Their places of worship were shut

up, and their ministers imprisoned. In 1547

the same king proclaimed an edict, enjoining the

brethren under the most severe penalties to leave

the country in the short space of forty-two days.

It was published on the 4th May 1548, and im

mediately put into execution. The brethren

resolved on removing to Prussia, whose so-

part in all the principal Protestant synods of Poland, and greatly

contributed to the Consensus Sendomiriensis, by which a union

between the Bohemian Brethren, Reformed and Lutherans, of

Poland was established in 1570. In 1580 he resigned his pastoral

functions on account of his great age, and retired to Lipnica, in

Moravia, where he died in 1588. He left a history of the

establishment and progress of the Bohemian churches in Po

land, written in Polish and Latin, as well as several other works

connected with his contemporary ecclesiastic history, besides

many speeches made in Polish at different synods. He enter

tained an extensive correspondence with many eminent refor

mers and scholars of Europe, and enjoyed, during his life-time,

a great influence with the most eminent personages of Poland.

Vide Lukaszewicz s Account of the Protestant Church in Posen.

* Vide. Clement, Bibliotheque Curieuse ; Walch s, Biblio-

theca Thcologica ; Michelet s Memoires of Luther.

150 SKETCH OF THE

vereign the duke Albert, offered them an asy

lum in his states. On the 15th June 1548 the

Their arrival in communities of Lutomysl, Turnow, Brandeis,

Chlum, Bieczow, and some other places, com

prehending a thousand souls, divided into three

parties, proceeded on their way to Prussia throughSilesia and Poland. The last of these parties, con

sisting of about four hundred individuals, entered

Posnania on the 25th June, being conducted bytheir priests, Mathias Aquila, Urbanus Herman,and Mathias Faliczki. But all the pilgrims were

under the guidance of Mathias Sionius, the elder

or chief of their whole community ; or, to use

the words of a celebrated Polish Protestant

writer (Wengierski), the leader of the people ofGod.

Andreas Gorka, castellan of Posnania, and

general or first magistrate of the province of

Grand Poland, a grandee possessed of enor

mous wealth, and who had already embraced the

reformed doctrines, received the pious wanderers

with the greatest kindness, and located them in

his domains of Kurnik, Kozmin, and Szamotuly.The brethren performed publicly divine service,

and their hymns chaunted and their sermons

preached in the Bohemian language, intelligible to

the inhabitants of the country, gained for them at

once the sympathies of the population. The Sla

vonian origin and language of the Bohemian

Brethren gave them many advantages in Poland


which Lutheranism, being of German growth, did

not possess, and they begun to entertain reasonable

hopes of converting all the provinces of Grand Poland. But the bishop ofPosnania, Izbicki, who saw

the danger with which his diocese was menaced bythe presence of the Bohemian Brethren, obtained,

by the influence of the spiritual lords and some

other zealous Roman Catholic senators, a royal

order, issued on the 4th August 1548, to remove

the brethren from the country. This order, which

was wrested from the inexperienced Sigismund

Augustus, who had been only a few months on

the throne, was also motived on political grounds,

as there was at that time a treaty between

Bohemia and Poland, by which they were

mutually bound not to receive subjects of one

country emigrating to the other. The brethren

left Poland and passed into Prussia; but they

had already sown abundant seed in the province

where they had dwelt for some time, and many a

flourishing community was afterwards established

by them in that part of Poland;but as this belongs

not to the period we are now describing, we shall

relate it in another part of our narrative.

Such was the state of Poland at the death of

Sigismund the First, in 1548. It was overrun

by the opinions of reformers of various shades,

but they had not yet taken any consistency, or

assumed any defined form, by establishing con

gregations following the rule of faith and mode of

152 SKETCH OF THE

worship of the reformed churches, established in

various parts of western Europe.This took place only under the subsequent

reign of Sigismund Augustus (1548-1572), when

the Protestant churches were established in

Poland, not as tolerated, but as legally acknow

ledged communities.

CHAPTER II.

Progress of the Reformation during the first

years of the Reign of Sigismund Augustus.

Agitated stateTHE accession of Sigismund Augustus, in the

month of May 1548>

was not attended with the

most auspicious circumstances. There was nocaused by his dispute about his ri^ht to the sovereignty, as thisJmarriage with

Barbara Radzi- important matter had been wisely settled by his

election and coronation while he was still a boy.*

But although Sigismund s rights as a monarch

*Sigismund Augustus, who was born in 1519, was elected

king 1529, and crowned the ensuing year, with the express con

dition that he should not take any part in the government during

his father s life ; this measure was very well advised, as it pre

vented an interregnum, and the troubles attending the election

of a new sovereign*


were formally established, he was attacked on a

subject which was more precious to him than the

crown of his ancestors. After the demise of his

first consort, Elizabeth of Austria, Sigismund Au

gustus married secretly at Vilna, Barbara Radzi-

will, a lady ofgreat beauty and accomplishments.*This alliance, which was concealed before the

death of his father, was made public immediately

after his accession. A violent opposition to the

king s marriage was raised throughout all Poland.

It was opposed by the jealousy of the nobles

against the already powerful family of the Ra-

dziwill, whose influence was increased by that

alliance, although the law prohibiting the mar

riage of a sovereign without consent of the Diet,

was enacted many years afterwards. It was also

thought by many a fit opportunity for circumscrib

ing the royal authority by new limitations.

The opposition against the royal marriage at the

Diet of Piotrkow was so violent, that the primate

Dzierzgowski, a prelate distinguished by his hatred

to the Protestants, and who was the leader of

that opposition, declared that he was ready to

absolve the monarch from the oath which bound

him to his queen, and to distribute the sin of per

jury amongst all the subjects of the realm. The

king remained, however, firm in his attachment

* She was a widow, having been married before to Gastold,

palatine of Troki.

154 SKETCH OF THE

to his wedded wife, and succeeded by his firmness,

and the assistance of some faithful friends, in

overcoming the opposition, so that Barbara was

acknowledged queen, and crowned by her violent

opponent the primate D zierzgowski himself. TheUnwise line of Protestants followed, on that occasion, a mostpolicy followedon that occa- unwise line of policy. They ought to have sup-sionbythePro- . . .

testant nobles, ported the monarch against the opposition, in

order to gain him over to their interests ; they

had besides an additional motive for doing it, as

the relatives of Barbara openly professed the re

formed doctrines ;* and the hostility of Dzierz-

gowski, the head of the Roman Catholic church

of Poland, to the young queen, seemed naturally

to place the Protestants amongst her defenders.

Such however was not the case, and the Protes

tant nobles, instead of supporting the monarch,

joined the Roman Catholics in their senseless

outcry against his marriage, the imaginary in

terests of their order rendering them forgetful

of the real ones of their religion : for we cannot

see any true motives of patriotism in that sensitive

jealousy with which the nobles sought on that

occasion to defend their privileges from the

dangers which might threaten them from the

* Nicholaus Radziwill, palatine of Vilna, grand-general and

chancellor of Lithuania, who had much contributed to the

spread of the Reformation in his country, \vas the brother of

Barbara.

REFORMATION IN POLAND. J 55

overgrown influence of the Radziwills, without

regard to those sacred rights which the monarch

possessed as a husband in common with the rest

of mankind.

The beginning of the reign of SigismundRiot of the stu-

Augustus was marked by an event, which, dents of the!/ i / L university of

although insignificant m itselr, was important Cracow, and

by its consequences, and has much accelerated ofagreatnum

the progress of the Protestant doctrines in Po-foreign

land. In 1549 Regina Strzemotska, a common n

prostitute, being publicly insulted by some stu

dents of the university, who stood before the

door of All-Hallows College, called to her assi

stance the servants of Czarnkowski, prebendary

of Cracow, and principal of the above-men"

tioned college. The servants took part against

the students, and a scuffle ensued, in which the

servants having made use of fire-arms, killed

some students. This occurrence produced a

universal commotion amongst all the students

of the university, who entered into a mutual

obligation to obtain a signal satisfaction for the

murder of their comrades. The whole body of

the students went to the royal castle, to sup

plicate for justice against the perpetrators of

the murder; but particularly against Czarnkow

ski himself, whom they accused as being the

chief promoter of that crime. Samuel Macie-

jovvski, bishop of Cracow, dissuaded them from

marching in such a crowd to the castle, repre-

156 SKETCH OF THE

senting it as an insult to royalty, and promisedto obtain for them full redress. They retired

from the castle and perambulated the streets,

carrying on their shoulders the dead bodies of

their comrades, and making violent speeches.

Having confirmed their mutual obligation to

prosecute the guilty, they chose one of their

number to lead that prosecution. They declared

also that if they should not obtain justice theywould leave the university, and even the country.

The king granted an audience to a deputation

of the students, who preferred an accusation,

the violence of which shows the hatred which

animated them against the ecclesiastical autho

rity, and which waited only for an opportunity

to manifest itself. They accused Czarnkowski

that, being the principal of the college, he had

ordered his servants to use violence ;but he

proved that he had not even been in the house

when the tumult arose, and the murder was

committed. The king blamed the riotous

conduct of the students, and ordered the affair

to be investigated by Samuel Maciejowski, bishopof Cracow, as chancellor of the university, a

prelate distinguished by the mildness of his

character and urbanity of his manner. Thestudents did not appear before the judge, con

sidering him as a partial one, and refused to

prosecute their accusation. Czarnkowski was

declared innocent, but the servants were im-


prisoned. However, as no accuser appeared,there was no trial. The students resolved on

leaving the university. It was impossible to

use any coercion against such a resolution, and

the authorities tried by conciliatory means to

prevent its execution.

The students were invited to the church of

Saint Franciscus, where they found assembled

all the university, the bishop of Cracow, and

John Tarnowski, the most respected grandeeof his time. They were addressed by Tarnow

ski, who promised them the punishment of the

guilty, and who was listened to with great at

tention;but when the bishop wished to speak

he was interrupted, and could not obtain a

hearing. The students left the church with

great tumult, and resolved on leaving the town

the following day. Cracow exhibited a mourn

ful scene; nothing was heard but groans,

lamentations, and parting farewells. The town

lost the most animated and brilliant part of its

population. According to the words of a cotem-

porary author,*" the schools became silent

;the

halls of the university were deserted ;the

churches were mute, and the oldest inhabitant

of Cracow had never witnessed a greater ca

lamity and a more general lamentation." The

wanderers assembled together, heard mass in a

*Zalaszowski, in his Jus Publicum Regni Polonice.

158 SKETCH OF THE

church of the suburb Kleparz, and began their

pilgrimage singing a sacred hymn. Some of

them were persuaded to return;but the greatest

part left the country, and repaired to foreign

universities. The greater part of the emigrants

went to Silesia, which was in some respects only

a continuation of Poland, and where the cele

brated school of Goldberg was at that time in a

very flourishing condition, under the direction of

Frankendorf, the most eminent of Melancthon s

pupils. This school was already the favourite

resort of many Polish students, and we maymention the noble family of Leszczynski as one

of those who generally educated their children

in that establishment. Many students went

also to the newly erected university of Konigs-

berg in Prussia.* They returned home almost

* The university of Konigsberg contributed much to the

spread of scriptural knowledge in Poland. The first Polish

Gospel, and the first anti-romanist works published in that

language, appeared under the direction of that learned institu

tion. It was established in 1544, by Albert duke of Prussia, first

cousin to Sigismund Augustus, with the object of promoting

religious, literary, and scientific information amongst the

German, Polish, and Lithuanian populations which inhabited

the dominions of Prussia. Duke Albert entertained the

project of mounting the throne of Poland after the

death of king Sigismund Augustus, and he tried by

every means to make himself popular in that country. He

accepted the dignity of a Polish senator, and would have

probably succeeded, through the support of the Protestant

party,


all imbued with Protestant opinions, and power

fully contributed to the spread of that doctrine

by communicating them to their families.

party, in his plans, had they not been destroyed by his death

in 1568. His only son was a very weak prince, and unable to

follow up the schemes of his father. In those times the

privilege of the Pope or the"emperor seems to have been

supposed by many as indispensable to the foundation of a

university, and Sabinus, the first rector of that of Konigsberg,was so strongly impressed by that idea, that he applied to

Cardinal Bembo, in order by his instrumentalitv to obtain from

the Pope a charter for a university established with the avowed

purpose of opposing his authority. Bembo politely declined

that ridiculous request. The emperor likewise refused to grantthe demanded charter; but Sigismund Augustus was more

liberal, and granted to the Protestant university of Konio-sberg-a charter, proprio motu dat. Vilno, 28th March 1561. He had

certainly the best right of doing that act, being the liege lord of

the duke of Prussia; and he expresses by the above-mentioned

charter that he was founding by it the said university (univer-sitatem condidimus et ereximus,) to which he gave equal rightswith that of Cracow. We must not omit a rather odd circum

stance, that the above-mentioned charter for the erection of a

Protestant university was countersigned by Padniewski, vice-

chancellor of Poland, and Roman Catholic bishop of Przemysl.When the privileges of that university were confirmed by Vla

dislav the Fourth, king of Poland, the act of confirmation waslikewise countersigned by the vice-chancellor Gembicki, also a

Roman Catholic prelate. The Polish monarch had an opportunityof exercising his supremacy, as liege lord of Prussia, in a benefi

cial manner to the privileges of the university of Konigsberg,in 16 17. The duke of Prussia having appropriated to himself the

right of nominating professors, which was vested in the univer

sity

160 SKETCH OF THE

jparish Another event which happened the same year

(1549,) proved the strength which the Protestant

instance of ma- opinions had already acquired in Poland. Varying a wife,

and of openly lenty, rector of Krzczonow (a parish in the dio-avowing his

Protestant opi- cese of Cracow), publicly married a wife. Samuel

Maciejowski, bishop of Cracow, summoned himfor that offence to appear before an ecclesiastical

court. The accused priest boldly presentedhimself to the bishop, being accompanied bysome individuals distinguished by their rank or

learning, such as INicholaus Olesnicki, lord of

sity by its charter, the affair was referred to the king of Poland,

whose commissaries, Adam Kossobudzki, castellan of Wyszo-grod, and Sadowski, a royal secretary, decided it in favour of

the university. The primitive object of the theological faculty of

the university of Konigsberg was to form ministers fit to

expound the word of God to the Polish and Lithuanian populations of Prussia in their national languages, and to supersedethe rather extraordinary custom which had heretofore prevailed

in that country. As the above-mentioned Poles and Lithua

nians did not understand the German language, there was

always a translator standing near the pulpit, who translated to

the congregation the sermon, which was preached in German,

unintelligible to the most of them. A theological seminarywas established at the university, containing twenty-four pupils,

fourteen of whom were for the Polish and Lithuanian lan

guages. In 1 728, a separate seminary was established for the

Poles and Lithuanians of Prussia, besides a foundation made

by the princes Radziwill for Protestant scholars from Poland

and Lithuania. Vide Arnold s History of the University of

Konigsberg, 1745, in German.


Pinczow; Nicholaus Rey ofNaglowice, celebrated

as the first poet in Poland, and a zealous re

former;* Remigius Chelmicki, and some others.

Orzechowski, who was soon to acquire a great

celebrity, supported that cause by his morda-

* Nicholaus Rey, surnamed of Naglowice from an estate

of that name which belonged to him, is the first who has

written Polish poetry in the sixteenth century. He translated

the Psalms, the Apocalypse, and its explanation by Bullinger.

But the work which gained the greatest popularity is his

Postilla, which he published in 1556, and which contributed

much to the spread of the reformed doctrines. It is written

with all the scurrility by which the polemical works of that

time were disgraced, and is ornamented with wood-cuts,

representing caricatures of the Pope and Cardinals, similar to

those which at that period were frequently published in diffe

rent parts of Europe.

Besides the above-mentioned works, he published Sacred

Hymns; A Catechismfor Young People; and " The Image of an

Honest Man." This last is a moral essay on different subjects,

and contains a curious picture of the manners and customs of

Poland during the sixteenth century. Rey was an eminentlynational character, and this has much contributed to the great

popularity his works enjoyed in his country. His education was

rather neglected : but he repaired that deficiency by his natural

talents, and by his strenuous exertions to acquire knowledge.He was renowned for the great joviality of his character, and

was considered one of the most agreeable companions of

his time ; for which reason, notwithstanding the violence of his

Protestant opinions, he was a welcome guest, and even intimate

friend of many Roman Catholic bishops. He died in 1569. Reywas held in great veneration by the Protestant writers of his

VOL. 1. ai country,

162 SKETCH OF THE

cious pen. Assisted by such auxiliaries, the

rector of Krzczonow, instead of avoiding judg

ment, sought it as a fit opportunity for

promulgating his opinions against the Roman

Catholic church ;but the bishop Maciejowski,

who foresaw what would be the consequences

of a trial where it was impossible to enforce

the sentence against heresy, and which would

only increase its force by showing the weak

ness of the clergy, prudently abandoned the

prosecution. Maciejowski s successor to the

episcopal see of Cracow, Zebrzydowski, was of

a different temper from that of his predecessor,

who was of a very mild and conciliatory dis

position. Zebrzydowski was a man of remarka

ble talents and learning, which he particularly

acquired under the tuition of Erasmus, whose

country, and one of them (Miaskowski) says: "Nicholaus Rey,whom our nation places as high as the Greeks did Hesiod

and the Romans Ennius, because all three have shown their

respective nations the road to science." Andreas Trzecieski

says,"

Rejus quern magnum scire, vocarepotest."

The Catholics,

on the contrary, abused him most violently, calling him, Satan

unbound ; the dragon of Oksza (an estate belonging to him) ;

the Sardanapalus of Naglowice. His life was written byAndreas Trzecieski, or Tricesius. There is an excellent article

on him in the Biographical Dictionary of the Polish Poets by the

Reverend Juszynski, who, although a Roman Catholic clergy

man, is a very impartial critic.


favourite pupil he seems to have been.* Wehave already mentioned that he took part in craeow, a vo-

the meetings of the society \vhich discussed

religious subjects at Cracow ;but although he

had at one time evinced a considerable leaningpre

towards the Protestant doctrines, he became

afterwards a most zealous and violent defender

of the Roman Catholic church. Zebrzydowskiis accused of having been a complete unbeliever,

and of having publicly treated the most im

portant dogmas of revealed religion as mere

fables;] but we must be very cautious in ad

mitting such a heavy charge, particularly as it

is proffered by his adversaries.

Zebrzydowski resolved on acting against the

growing heresy, and summoned to his tribunal

* Erasmus calls him, in his letters," meus Zebrzydovius."

Vide his letter.

f Zebrzydowski is accused by Lubieniecki, a Socinian

writer, of having publicly said :" Gramen quod falee resectum

jaceat-redibit, ego autem falce mortis demessus non amplius

resurgam, crede et in hircum si velis, dummodo mihi decimas

pendas."This accusation resembles much that which has

been broached against Pope Leo the Tenth, but which was

refuted by Roscoe, in his admirable life of that pontiff; and

it may be that the charge against Zebrzydowski has no

more foundation than that against the accomplished Leo.

Zebrzydowski has been also accused of profligate manners :

but as we have no other proofs against his personal cha

racter than the evidence of his opponents, we shall only

describe his public actions.

M 2

164 SKETCH OF THE

His vain at- a landowner called Conrad Krupka Przeclawski,tempt to per-secute Prze- to appear on a charge of favouring Lutheranism,

- and refusing the payment of tithes. Przeclawski

Protestant^, obeyed the summons, and appeared before the

bishop in company with some influential nobles

partaking his religious persuasions. When in

terrogated concerning his religions opinions, he

answered that he believed in the Gospels, which

were the true word of God, and in Christ the

head of the church. Being demanded to give

an explanation of the real meaning of his words,

he boldly stated them in the anti-Romanist sense,

without any attempt at concealing his Protestant

opinions.

The bishop offered a pardon if Przeclawski

would recant his opinions; but his propositionwas rejected. He therefore declared him a

heretic, condemned him to death and confis

cation of property, and recommended the tem

poral tribunals to carry his sentence into exe

cution.*

*Zebrzydowski s proceedings deserved great praise from

Rome, and Pope Julius the Third expressed his satisfaction

in the following manner :(Quce super intelleximus, a venera-

bilibus fratribus, Cracoviensi el Premislensi Episcopis contra

Conradum Crupek, pie et constanter acta fmsse ea nobis grataacciderunt. Explicuit flagranlissimum tuendce incorruptce or-

thodoxa religionis studium Andreas episcopus Cracoviensis

atque Conradum Crupek novatorum signifernm justa severitate

coercuit." Vide Raynaldus, ad annum 1552.


It was, however, more easy to pronounce than

to put into execution such a sentence as that

which was given by Zebrzydowski. The idea of

a bishop assuming the power of condemning a

noble to a capital punishment for his opinions, a

thing which even a monarch had no right arbi

trarily to do in Poland, roused a general indigna

tion, even among the Roman Catholic nobles.

The chancellor of the crown dared not grant the

exequatur to the episcopal decree, being well

aware of the dangerous consequences it would

have produced to the Roman Catholic hierarchy.

Sigismund Augustus was by no means inclined

to promote the interests of Romanism by allowing

such a violent act against the liberty of his sub-

jests, and which would not have been without

danger even to his own authority. Nothing re

mained, therefore, to the clergy than to excommu

nicate Przeclawski ;but as this excommunication

produced no civil disabilities, it was of very little

consequence to one who, like Przeclawski, had

openly embraced the Protestant doctrines.

Although the cause of the Reformation had

obtained a signal triumph in the case of Przec

lawski, where the impotency of the Roman Catho

lic clergy to repress Protestantism by force was

clearly proved, it was still promoted only in a

manner which may be called passive, by proclaim

ing anti-Romanist opinions, by the marriage of

some clergymen, and by the refusal to pay tithes

166 SKETCH OF THE

to the Roman Catholic clergy. The first direct

attack on the Roman Catholic establishment wasNicoiaus oies- made by Nicholaus Olesnicki, lord of Pinczov,nicki converts

the first Roman who, induced by Stancari, turned out the monksCatholic church ...into a Protes- from a convent in his town, ejected the images

from the church, and established there a public

Protestant worship, according to the tenets and

rites of Geneva.* This overt aggression on the

Roman Catholic establishment could not be left

unresented. Olesnicki was summoned before the

ecclesiastical tribunal of Cracow. He obeyed the

summons, but he arrived with such a number of

friends and retainers, that the ecclesiastical tribu

nal was terrified, and dared not open its sittings.

The clergy referred the affair to the king s judgment, acknowledging by this act their inability

to cope with heresy, and, descending from the

He is summon- dignity of a judge, became onlv a party. Oles-ed for this act

before the king nicki appeared before the kins: and the senate,and the senate. _ _ _ . . .

and openly confessed his opinions and actions.

* Andreas Tricesius (Trzecieski), a Polish writer of the

tenth century, whom we have already mentioned, commemorated that event in the following verses :

Primus ubi nutu ccelesti Olesnicius herus

Aggreditur sanctce religionis opus,

Ejicitque suis monachos idolaque templis,

Et sacra missarum prodigiosa Papce

Reslituit veteres cultus,Jormamque sacrarum.


INicholaus Rey, whom we have already mention

ed,* appeared on that occasion as the advocate of

Protestantism;he brought forward the most bit

ter accusations against the convents, the clergy,

and the Roman church itself; he even expressed

his thanks to Olesnicki, for having shown to his

countrymen, instead of a despised religion, a true

Christian worship. Zebrzydowski defended the

established religion, and tried to attack the

Protestant doctrines, rather on political than reli

gious grounds. "What will be the consequence,"

said he," when heresy shall obtain freedom

amongst us? There is not a crime which will not

be perpetrated by the unbridled mob. There

will be the like anarchy as there is in Germany,where the peasant no longer obeys the noble,

the noble the prince, the prince the emperor. If

the clergy fall, there will be also an end of civil

authority. It is necessary to make an example,

and to repress the dangerous innovations by

severe laws."

According to Roman Catholic writers, the

king, as well as all the senate, unanimously

voted for a severe punishment ;and even John

Tarnowski, who at that time was the first Punished

man in his country, not only by his dignity,

but also by his personal influence, was likewise

inclined to severe measures;but that this nni-


168 SKETCH OF THE

versal opinion was counterbalanced by the

single voice of Valenty Dembinski, castellan of

Biecz, who persuaded the king and the senate

to abstain from any violent proceedings, and

prevailed on them to adopt lenient measures. Wehave, however, no hesitation in declaring that

statement incorrect, for the following reasons.

Firstly, it is well known that Tarnowski * was

* John Tarnowski is one of the most noble characters of

our history. Born in 1488, from one of the first families in

the country, he received the best education, and, displayed

great talents from his boyhood, as he could explain Virgil

when only ten years old. Having finished his studies in

Poland, he went on his travels, and visited the Holy Land and

Syria, as well as the coasts of the Black Sea and those of the

Mediterranean. He afterwards joined Emmanuel, king of

Portugal, in an expedition to Africa. He distinguished him

self there in such a manner, that he received from the Por

tuguese monarch the most brilliant offers if he would remain

in his service : but having refused them, he was dismissed with

rich presents. Tarnowski left Portugal, and spent a long time

at the courts of Francis the First, Charles the Fifth, and Leo

the Tenth. He returned afterwards to his country, where by a

long series of services he rose to the most eminent dignities,

having become castellan of Cracow, which was the first rank

amongst the temporal senators, and grand general of the crown,

which rendered him the commander in chief of all the military

forces of the kingdom.He was exceedingly popular in his own country, and a

proof of the high consideration in which he was held by his

foreign contemporaries is afforded by the wording of the patent

by which the emperor, Charles the Fifth, created Tarnowski

count of the Roman empire. It says, that it is not with anyintention


already at that time favourably inclined to the

reformed doctrines, which he finally embraced,and consequently he would not have advised

a severe punishment against those whose opi

nions he shared; secondly, we have sufficient

evidence that many senators had already at that

intention to add to Tarnowski s dignity that this title was

conferred on him, but that it was done in order to honour the

body of the counts of the Roman empire by his accession to

their number. His wealth was so great, that when John

Zapolya, king of Hungary, was driven from his states byFerdinand of Austria,, Tarnowski received him in his hereditary

estate, the town of Tarnow, and maintained him with his court

during two years in a style of royal dignity. This magnificent

hospitality was acknowledged by Zapolya in a becoming

manner,, when he re-ascended his throne. Tarnowski died at

his castle at Tarnow in 1571, being eighty-three years old. His

funeral Avas solemnized with extraordinary pomp, and honoured

by the presence of many foreign ambassadors, who were pur

posely sent by their monarchs to assist at the ceremony.

Tarnowski was very fond of learning, and a great patron of

learned men, of whom he always maintained some at his court.

He had a splendid library and composed himself the following

works. 1. "Advices on the Art of War" written in Polish, and

printed at Tarnow in 1558. 2. " DC hello cum juratissimis

Christiana Jidei hostibus gerendo, ad Carohim Quinturn impe-

ralorcmrcgcm."

This work was written when Charles the Fifth

intreated the author to take the command of his armies against

the Turks. 3. A Treatise on Law, published with a collection

of Speeches which he had made on several occasions in the

senate (in Latin). He WTote also the history of his own times ;

but it has never been published. From all that we have said

about Tarnowski, it is natural to suppose that all parties looked

to

170 SKETCH OF THE

time openly declared for the reformed doctrines,

and consequently an unanimous decree which

would establish a precedent so dangerous to

the interests of their religion, is quite inad

missible. Moreover, it is almost impossible to

suppose that the monarch and the senate would

have seriously thought of punishing a manlike Olesnicki, belonging to one of the first

to him as one who was likely to decide the balance by inclining

to one side or the other. The Roman Catholic clergy did every

thing to retain him in the pale of their church ; but Tarnowski,

although he displayed much moderation, was decidedly for

great reforms to be introduced into the church, and was very

anxious to obtain from the Pope the confirmation of the

following indulgences for the Polish church : the communion

of two kinds; the liturgy in the national language; the marriage

of priests; and the abolition of fasts as an obligation. He was

very much opposed to the encroachments of the clerical power,

and called the decrees of the synod of Lowicz of 1556, of

which we shall speak hereafter, impious. Orzechowski says :

* Some wish to overturn the entire establishment of the old

faith in Poland, but some others will do nothing in that

respect. John Tarnowski was for a middle course ; he did not

wish to change the religion, but to amend its abuses." Orze

chowski, apud Ossolinski. The Protestant writer Tricesius,

whom we have already quoted, says : Ecce decus nostrum

Tarnovius sicut apostolicce damnat delirice sedis." Tarnowski

favourably received the eulogies given to him by Calvin for

his advocating a reform in the church. He maintained also a

friendly correspondence with Melancthon and the learned

Italian reformer Vergerius. The fact ofTarnowski having de

cidedly embraced the reformed religion is positively stated by the

learned Philip Padniewski, vice-chancellor of Poland and a

Roman


families in the country, and influential throughhis riches and connexions, if comparatively

insignificant persons, as Krupka and the rector

of Krzczonow, escaped without punishment,

notwithstanding the efforts of the clergy to con

demn them to the most severe penalties for their

heresy. The fact is, that Olesnicki was never

tried for heresy, as the cognizance of such

a case belonged to the spiritual, and not to

the temporal tribunals, but only for the violence

committed by him in ejecting the Roman Catholic priests from their church and convent.

Olesnicki was simply obliged to promise the

restoration of the convent to the monks, whomhe had ejected thence but this compulsory promise was never fulfilled. But although Protestantism manifested on that occasion sufficient

strength to struggle with the established church

of Poland, and to maintain the ground it had

ganied, still it had no legal existence, no rights

acknowledged by the national legislation, and

might be considered only as a successful revolt

against the ancient order of things.

Roman Catholic bishop, who in his work,"

Elogia illustrum

Polonice virorum suce etatis," says that "Tarnowski has changedthe religion of his ancestors, and followed the opinion of

those who were spreading error at that time." The work of

Padniewski has never been printed, but the well-known Polish

biographer Bohomolec, who wrote a life of Tarnowski, possessed the manuscript of Padniewski, and we have quoted on

his authority the above-mentioned passage.

172 SKETCH OF THE

Sigismund Augustus was obliged, in order to

accelerate the coronation of his queen, Barbara

Radziwill, to give a promise that he would

not grant the dignities of the state to heretics :

but his promise remained without effect, as the

monarch was neither able, nor had any serious

wish to fulfil it.

The Roman The Roman Catholic church of Poland saw

of Piotrkciw of clearly the dangers by which it was threatened.

t^eLiTpTteTe-The primate Dzierzgowski, whom we have

sibie nLansP S~

already mentioned as the great opponent to the

king s alliance with Barbara Radziwill, con

voked a synod at Piotrkow in 1552. This con

vocation resolved on the extirpation of heresy,

which was beginning to infect the clergy itself.

Hosius bishop of Varmia, who afterwards ob

tained a deplorable celebrity by his successful

hostility to the reformers, and particularly by

introducing the Jesuits into his country, com

posed on that occasion a form of creed, which

was to serve as a test of orthodoxy for every

true Roman Catholic. Besides the fundamental

dogmas of the Roman Catholic church, the

above-mentioned creed contained all the minor

absurdities and practices which modern Romehas so evidently borrowed from the Paganrites of the ancient city of the Caesars.* This

* " Tn credis, aquam benedictam, invocationem sanctorum et

consecrationem herbarum esse cfficacem ? Crcdis purgatorium,

Papam,


creed was dedicated by the primate Dzierz-

gowski to the king, whom he calls propugnator

fidei, and all the clergy was enjoined to sub

scribe to it. It was resolved at the same time

to petition the monarch that he would order all

the public officers, the senate, and the equestrian

order, to subscribe to the same creed, and to

observe it as the only true articles of faith. The

same synod prohibited lands belonging to the

church from being let on lease to persons sus

pected of heresy, and forbade the clergy to

frequent any place or company where religious

matters might be discussed. Besides those measures which we may call preventive, the synodresolved to adopt some others of a more active

and energetic kind. It was decided to begin a

real war against the heretic nobles, and to imposefor that purpose a considerable tax on the clergy.

A most severe persecution was to be commenced

against the heretics, and the king s assistance

to that persecution was to be secured by the

bribe of the confiscation of the property of the

Papam, Missam, jejunia, vota, atque ccelib atum ? "Wengierski

book i. chap. 13. Vide also "Hosii opera "Antverpice 1571, and" Stanislai Hosii vita autore Rescio," Romce 1587. According to

Orzechowski, the subscription to the above-mentioned creed bythe clergy was resolved because many of the bishops were

suspected of heresy :

<c

quod mvlto inter episcopos erant suspect i.

Vide Orichovii annalium.

174 SKETCH OF THE

heretics.* The bishops of Cujavia and of Ka-

mienietz represented in vain the dangers of

attacking such a powerful body as the Equestrian

order in Poland;but this moderate advice was

silenced by the voice of fanaticism and passion.

The synod decided on putting into execution the

violent resolutions it had enacted, and the bishops

filled the country with judicial citations against

the clergy and nobles who had broken off their

connexion with the Roman church. They were

confirmed in their resolution by the court of

Rome, which recommended, by an encyclical

letter to the bishops, the extirpation of heresy.

Attempt to put The first victim of the persecution was Nicho-into execution . T^ , , ,

the resolutions laus, rector of Jvurow, a place belonging to the

family of Zbonski, which had seceded from the

Roman church in the times of the Hussites.*

Nicholaus began in 1550 to preach the pure doc

trines of the gospel, and allowed his parishioners

the use of the communion of two kinds. Beingcited before the ecclesiastical tribunal, he accused

* " Decretum factum hereticos bello persequendi, magna vis

pecunifs ecclesiasticis imperaia. Regem sibi conciliare statuerunt,

id quid multas extorsissent, id regem sibi vendicaturum" Bzovius

ad annum 1551. "Decretum erat ibi episcopos cum nobilitate

heretica plane indicium bellumgerere." Wengierski, book i.

chap. 13. " Cum hereticis plane indicium bellum gerere pecunia

grandis sacerdotibusimperata."

Orichovius Annalium.

f Vide page 81.


the bishop of his diocese, Andreas Zebrzydowski,and defended his doctrines from the pulpit. He Martyrdom of

was seized, imprisoned, and suffered martyrdomeither by poison or murder.* Stanislav Stadnicki,

Kurow-

whom we have already mentioned as the patron of

Stancari, established in his domain, Dobiecko,the reformed worship, and ordered the children

to be baptized according to its rites. Dziaduski, unsuccessful

bishop of Przemysl, cited Stadnicki, who offered

to give a justification of his religious opinions ; other nobies

d

but the ecclesiastical tribunal rejected that

offer, and condemned him, by default, to civil

death and loss of property. When representa

tions were made against such rash proceedings,the bishop answered, that no leniency ought to

be shown to heretics, who should be, whether

present or absent, speedily judged and destroyed.|The sentence of the bishop, however, could not

be carried into effect;and Stadnicki denounced

before his assembled fellow citizens, in the strongest terms, the encroachments of the clergy on the

rights and liberty of the nobles. " Theclergy"

said he," not content with having filled the

f

"VVengierski, book i. chap. 18. Lubieniecki relates, that

Martinus Kurowski, or of Kurow, was in 1550 imprisoned,starved to death, and his corpse cast out naked. Query. Whether Martinus and Nicholas are the same ? Vide Hist. Re-

formationis Pol. lib. I.

f Cum hereticis celeriter agendum, sive adsint, sive non ;

Missis, ambagibus, condemnandos , proscribcndos, tollendos.

176 SKETCH OF THE

towns with their abominations, seek to drive us

from the kingdom, after having deprived us of

honour and despoiled us of property. They are

like wild beasts, which, pampered with too great

an abundance of food, seek to tear those who

feed them. We must recommend to our repre

sentatives the enactment of laws, guarding the

nobles from the loss of honour, life, and pro

perty, without being lawfully convicted by a judg

ment of the Diet presided over by theking."

The clergy endeavoured to prosecute the heretics

all over Poland. The primate himself cited

many eminent citizens, such as the two Lasocki

(John and Christopher), and James Ostrorog. Apriest called Martinus Krowicki, accused of

having married a wife, narrowly escaped martyr

dom, but found refuge at Pinczow, where, as we

have already related, Olesnicki had publicly esta

blished the reformed worship. Two brothers of

the name of Bialobrzeski, one abbot of Mogila,

and the other abbot of Jendrzejow (both in the

diocese of Cracow), were prosecuted, on account

of their having married wives, and were in great

danger of suffering martyrdom.

Yet, although the Roman Catholic church of

Poland betrayed at that time a strong desire to

crush its opponents by the most violent persecu

tion, its bloody intentions were thwarted by the

free institutions of the country, and by the uni

versal reluctance of the temporal magistrates to


carry into execution the barbarous decrees awarded by the ecclesiastical tribunals, against their

fellow citizens. Except some solitary cases, as

that of the rector of Kurow, and probably somefew others, perpetrated in the darkness of the

convent, and hidden by deep secrecy from the

knowledge of an indignant public,* the efforts

of the clergy to persecute the heretics remained

fruitless, and their attempt to re-invigorate the

declining power of the church, by the adoption

* Martinus Krowicki, whom we have mentioned as havingbeen persecuted for his marriage, wrote the following Polish

lines, replete with the most terrible accusation against the

bloody persecutions of the Roman clergy in Poland :

Owe Krakowskie turmy by prawic umialy

Lipowieckie katusze gdyby movvic smiafy

Dowiedzialby sig kazdy, jak glodem morzono,

Pogariskim obyczajem bitoi m^czono,Za smierc Xi^dza Michata, Bogu odpowiecieBo chociaz ksi^gi jego \vszystkie popalicie

Nie zatracicie jednak Boskiej prawdy oneyZescie skryby, Fartize i hid pot^piony.

i. e. "If the dungeons of Cracow could speak, if the tortures of

Lipowiec dared to talk, every body would know how peoplewere starved,, beaten, and tormented in a pagan manner. Ye shall

have to answer before God for the death of the priest Michel ;

but, although you will burn all his books, you shall never

destroy the divine truth, which proves that ye are scribes,

pharisees, and condemned people !" It is impossible to knowwho was the priest Michel alluded to in these lines, and whatkind of death he had suffered.

VOL. I. N

178 REFORMATION IN POLAND.

of severe measures against those who had seceded

from its pale, produced a strong reaction, favour

able to the professors of the reformed doctrines.

The attempts The Equestrian order, who had constantly evinced

clergy raise a a great jealousy of the royal authority, andviolent opposition on the paof the noblestion on the part limited its extent, so as to ensure a perfect invio-

of Poiwd lability of their persons and property, perceived

with terror the tendency manifested by the church

to acquire a power that might prove more dan

gerous to their liberty than the authority of

the monarch. The idea of becoming subject to

the sway of a body which, directed by a foreign,

irresponsible leader sought to usurp a right to

decide about the honour, life, and property of

the citizens, filled the minds of the Polish nobles

with horror, and the same outcry which was

raised by the Protestant Stadnicki, was uttered

throughout Poland, even by those nobles whoremained in the community of the Roman church.

But the most severe blow which was inflicted at

that time on the Roman Catholic church in

Poland, was directed by one individual whodeserves a particular notice in the history of

Poland one who might have rendered great

services to his country in respect to religion,

literature, and politics, if his eminent talents

had riot been degraded by an uncontrolled

violence of passion and an utter destitution of

principles.

CHAPTER III.

THE DIET OF 1552 VIRTUALLY ABROGATES THE ECCLESI

ASTICAL JURISDICTION. ORZECHOWSKI, MODRZEWSKlAND STANCARI; THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE RELIGIOUS

AFFAIRS OF POLAND.

Stanislav Orzechowski, better known to learnedpi i i i . . h"ls character

Europe under his latinised name of Orichovius,* and influence

was born 1513 in the palatinate of Russia (present

"

Gallicia). He made his first studies at Przemysl,a town situated in his native province, which hecontinued at Vienna, and completed at Wittem-

berg, where he became a favourite with Lutherand Melancthon. He adopted the opinions ofthese reformers not, however, as it seems fromhis own confessions, from a sense of piety andlove of truth, but because he found them moreconvenient to his reckless character. "

Havingbeen sent to

Germany," he says himself," I be

came enamoured of innovation; I considered that

* Vide Bayle, Diet, historique et critique, art. Orichovius,

N 2

180 SKETCH OF THE

it would be very honourable to me if, by intro

ducing some German doctrines, I should be distin

guished from my equals in age, as for instance :

such principles as, to disobey the Pope ;to have

no respect for laws;to revel always, and never

to fast;to seize the church property ;

to know

nothing about God; to exterminate the monks.

After three years of study I arrived at that truth,

that all that is old, that is paternal, is not just.

I wished to advance further, and I passed to

Carlostadt, of whom it was said, that all that he

has taken from Luther, he has made still worse.

To the guidance of such leaders I intrusted

myself, and whoever made more and bolder

innovations, him I considered better and more

learned."*

This description of the particular tenets which

he confessed, expressed in the most coarse and

abusive language, was written at a time when he

had joined the Romanists, and attacked the Pro

testants ;and although the account which he

gives of his connexion with the reformers was

written in order to throw an odium on the Pro

testant doctrines, he gave at the same time a true

picture of his passionate character, which rendered

him, through all his life, equally dangerous as a

friend or as an enemy.After having finished his studies at the German

* Stanislai Orichovii Roxolni Chimera, Colonise, 1563.

REFORMATION IN POLAND 181

universities, Orzechowski visited Rome, and re

turned to his native land in 1 543, thoroughly imbued

with the opinions of the reformers. He began

openly to broach them in his country : but he

soon perceived that they could not afford him

any worldly advantages, whilst the Roman Catholic church could dispose of wealth and honours

in favour of its defenders. He therefore entered

into orders, and was, after some time, promoted to

the canonry of Przemysl. But, although a member of the Roman Catholic clergy, he could not

entirely conceal his real opinions, being conti

nually excited by his ungovernable passions, and

stimulated by his relative, Rey of Naglowice,whom we have already mentioned as one of the

first Protestant writers of his country. Afraid of

losing, by an overt attack on the Roman Catholic

church, the advantages he derived as one of her

dignitaries, he did it in an indirect manner. Beingthe inhabitant of a province where the Greek

religion was prevalent, he began to discuss in his

writings the councils of Ferrara and Florence,

where the supremacy of the Pope over the eastern

church was acknowledged by the emperor of

Constantinople and the Greek deputies. Althoughhe ostensibly professed a great respect for those

councils, and spoke with an apparent respect of

the submission of the Greek church of Poland to

the supremacy of the Popes, he expressed several

opinions favourable to its independence, or, as

182 SKETCH OF THE

Rome calls it, schism, and openly defended the

matrimony of the priests. Having been cited

before the ecclesiastical authorities for attemptinginnovations dangerous to the repose of the church

and the purity of its doctrines, Orzechowski made

a recantation of his opinions, and the book which

contained them was condemned to be burned.

This submission of Orzechowski to the autho

rity of his church was not, however, of long

duration; and when the rector of Krzczonow

married a wife, Orzechowski took, as we have

already mentioned,* his part violently against the

He marries a clergy. Soon afterwards, he himself publicly

be iVa R.^c. married Magdaline Chelmicki ; and when the

persecuted for bishop of Przemysl cited him on that account

before his tribunal, he arrived in company with

such numerous and powerful friends that the

bishop dared not to open the court, but, affecting

to judge him by default, signed a decree of

excommunication, inflicting upon him the penalty

of infamy and confiscation of property.

Orzechowski was not intimidated by such pro

ceedings ;he entered a church during the perform

ance of divine service(which was instantly stopped

on account of his presence), and exposed to the

assembled congregation a justification of his con

duct. He complained at the same time before

the tribunal of the province of the violent and

that.

His vigorousdefence.

* Vide page 161.

TIE FORMATION IN POLAND. 183

cruel proceeding of the church, and made an

appeal from the episcopal sentence to the arch

bishop. The church, however, still retained its

legal authority, and the excommunication was

consequently binding. The king was prevailed

upon to issue an order for its execution, addressed

to the palatine and starost* of Cracow; but

Kmita, palatine of Cracow, dared not to execute

an order so contrary to public opinion, and sus

pended its fulfilment, under some pretence or

other, till the meeting of the next Diet. The

daring pretensions of the Romish church spread

among the whole nation a general spirit of opposition to its encroachments on the liberty of the

citizens. This prevalent feeling exercised a decided

influence on the Diet of 1550. The first nobles of

the country, Nicholaus prince Radzi will, palatine

of Vilna, Martinus Zborowski, palatine of Kalisz, evinced against

Nicholaus Brudzewski, palatine of Lenczyca, clergy, mani-

Ti , , T i - festedbythe

Raphael Leszczynski, palatine of Rava, Andreas Diet of 1550.

Gorka, castellan of Posnania, in the senate; Peter

Boratynski, Nicholaus Krzycki, and John Siera-

kowski, in the chamber of Nuncios, appeared as

accusers of the Roman Catholic clergy. Orze-

chowski, who had, by his passionate and brilliant

eloquence, fanned the general indignation againstthe church of Rome into a terrible flame, succeeded

in gaining a paramount influence over the delibe-

*Starost, vide note in page 110.

184 SKETCH OF THE

rations of the diet;and he may be considered as

having chiefly advanced on that memorable occa

sion the cause of religious liberty. Having read

influence of before the Nuncios the atrocious expressions ofOrzecbowski at

, J, ,. .

timt Diet. the Roman Catholic excommunication, he put

the question whether the bishops should be

allowed to dispose of human life by such bar

barous decrees ? The chamber decided that no

one but the monarch had the right of judging

citizens, and of condemning them to any penalty

whatever;and its orators represented to Sigis-

mund Augustus, that he should not permit the

bishops to usurp the privileges of his crown.*

Orzechowski addressed the king and the senate

with equal boldness. He attacked Rome with

the most bitter invectives, and justified the matri

mony of priests by powerful arguments. The

bishops began to perceive their fault, and saw

that by their untimely severity they had excited

the hatred of the nation, which was rejecting

their jurisdiction through the medium of its

assembled representatives. The monarch neither

dared, nor wished to condemn the heresy defended

in such an able and powerful manner. These

*"Nunciijam

ante adversus Episcoporum potentiam exacerbati.

Bzovius ad 1550. Nuncii adversus potentiam Episcoporum exa-

cerbati Regem adeant, orant, ne Hex Episcopos jus regium sibi

usurpare in Polonia pateretur, soli Regi, convictos rerum capi-

talium liccre proscribcre ac illorum bona publicare, prceterca

nemini." Wengierski, i. 13.


considerations induced the bishops to adopt a

more conciliatory policy ;and Macieiowski, bishop

of Cracow, who had been always contrary to

violence, opposed also on this occasion his wonted

moderation to the zeal of his colleagues. The

king suspended his decision on that important

subject. A conciliatory conversation between the

bishops and Orzechowski was suggested by some

well-meaning persons. Orzechowski accepted that

proposition, and appeared in company with his

principal friends;but the clergy could not consent

to such a public humiliation as to meet on equal

terms a culprit condemned by their authority,

and refused him a hearing. They, however, post

poned the affair, and, without absolving Orze

chowski from the excommunication, suspendedits effects. He was to remain quiet until the

decision of the Pope, from whom he was to seek

the permission of retaining his wife.

The Diet of 1550 left the important contest

between the Roman Catholic church and its

adversaries without a final decision. It did not

approve the pretensions of the former, without

condemning the claims of the latter. The weak

ness of Romanism was made evident : but Pro

testantism did not yet succeed in establishing its

legal existence, although it had been virtually

embraced by the principal part of the leading

persons of the country.*

* " Tantos sibi sumcbat spiritas nobilitas affluente hccresi, quce

primaries

186 SKETCH OF THE

t?o

e "

a^ainsttbeThe national indignation against the Roman

c. clergy,clergy and its pretensions became almost the

exclusive subject of the discussions which took

place at the elections of 1552. All the country

unanimously, and in a decisive manner, instructed

their representatives at the Diet to restrict the

authority of the bishops. The elections of the

province of Russia, where Orzechowski had manyfriends and extensive connexions, were even more

explicit in their demands than the others,* and

they positively required the Diet should abolish

the jurisdiction of the church. Rome saw its

danger, and the Pope requested the king, in a

hesitating manner, to maintain the jurisdictions

of the church, and to put into execution the

decrees of the bishops of Cracow and Przemysl,which we have already mentioned.

The Diet of The tendency of the Diet of 1552, convoked1552 manifests i

at its opening under such auspices, could not be doubtful for a

ded"rati-

e~moment. At the mass, which was usuallyperformedbefore the opening of the deliberations, many nun-

primarios in regno optimates mfecerat. Bzovius, an. 1550. Equitcs

Polonos contra vim Episcoporum non defuturos, neque passuros

Episcopos in Polonia mice ac fortunarum dominos esse." Oricho-

vius, Annalium, 1551.

* " Nullus conveningjuerat, in quo de minuenda pontificia potes-

iate postulata non ederentur. Equites Rutheni electis Icgatis

diligenter commendaverunt, ut nulla de re prius in comitiis ageretnr,

quam utjudicia Episcoporum abrogarentur." Orzechowski, An-

nalium.


cios turned away their faces during the elevation

of the host, whilst the monarch and the senate

were bowing their knees before the sacrament.

Raphael Leszczynski expressed his opinions in a

more decisive manner. Standing before the king,without showing the slightest respect to the mass,

he did not even uncover his head during the

performance of the most sacred ceremony of the

Roman church. The Roman Catholics dared

not to reprove this open contempt of their worship,and the chamber of the nuncios gave the most

decided approbation to that daring manifestation

of anti-Romanist opinions, by electing marshal or

chairman of their chamber the same Leszczynski,who had shortly before resigned his senatorial

dignity, in order to become a nuncio.* This act

removed every doubt about the real dispositionof the majority of the Diet : and, indeed, this

disposition was so general, that parties oppositein politics agreed in their hostility to the epis

copal jurisdiction, which it was now quite impossible longer to maintain. The bishop of Przemysl,who had excommunicated Orzechowski, became

the object of a general reproach ;even the bishops

* This Raphael Leszczynski was the descendant of Wenceslaus

of Leszna or Leszczynski, whom Huss mentions as his defender

at the council of Constance, and lineal ancestor of king Stani-

slav Leszczynski, father to Maria Leszczynski, the virtuous

queen of the profligate Louis XVth of France.

188 SKETCH OF THE

upbraided him for having excited a storm which

shook their authority, and proved so injurious to

the Roman church. The king, who was naturally

inclined to moderation, wished that they would

themselves adopt a modification of their rights ;

The bishopsbut they all, with the exception of Drohoiowski,

render their" bishop of Vladislaw, who advised moderation,

refused to make any concession.

The monarch seeing that nothing could be

effected by conciliatory means, issued a decree

Theccciesjas- conformable to the opinion of the majority of the

tical jurisdic- -__. .

tionisvir- Diet, by which it was statuted, that the clergy

gated7by that should retain the right of judging heresy, without

Diet, which //*, -i i ij-

deprived the any power of inflicting civil or criminal penalties

spStuai courts on the condemned persons ;or that it should

chii effects

a

.

ny decide only on matters of religion, but that such

decisions could have no consequences in civil or

political respects. The church could judge whe

ther the doctrine was orthodox or heretical, but

could not apply any temporal punishment to those

whose creed it condemned.* This decision, which

* " 1552 Rex declaravit, causarum religionis cognitionem, dog-

matum novorum discretionem ad solos pertinere Episcopos ; verum

honoris aut capitis diminutionem, ad illorum judicium minime

spectare : ab eo tempore Jurisdictio Episcoporum in causas novalce

religionis penitus concedit : quidovis impune credendi libertas, per

totum grassaretur regnum." Buzenski apud Ossolinski.

Piasecki 9 aRoman Catholic bishop, says also positively, that the

king permitted the abolishment of the penalty of infamy, as a

consequence of a condemnation of the church, i.e. that a sentence

of the ecclesiastical courts should have no civil effect. Lubie-

nieck1


established religious liberty in Poland, excited irritation of the

. . , m R. C. bishopsthe greatest anger of the bishops. 1 hey made a against that

solemn protestation against such an enactment,

left the hall of the senate, and threatened to

resign their senatorial dignities. But as these

threats were disregarded, and no effort was made

either to retain or to recal them to the senate,

whose deliberations proceeded in the usual manner during their absence, they resumed their

seats.

A proposition was started, whether it would

not be useful to the nation to abolish the dignity

of senators nominated not by the national sove

reign, but by the Pope : i. e. whether it would not

be expedient to expel the bishops from the senate.

This proposition produced, however, no more

consequences than the petitions addressed to the

niecki and Wengierski describe the Diet of 1552 as the epochof the fall of the Roman Catholic clergy s preponderance in

Poland. Bzovius, Bielski, and Orzechowski (who at that time

was a partisan of Rome) represented that memorable transac

tion in a false light, by giving only the first part of the above-

mentioned ordinance relating to the confirmation of the epis

copal authority in religious matters, but they omitted that part

which abolished its civil consequences. If the royal ordinance

had fully confirmed the jurisdiction of the bishops, it would be

impossible to conceive why, since 1552, the ecclesiastical courts

ceased to judge the heretics. Bzovius says himself: f"

Nequidemex decreto Regis Episcopi agere potuerint et htereses quammaxime execrandce in omnibus regni provinciis propagercntur,

atque episcoporumjurisdictionis potcstas vilesceret," (ad an. 1552.)

190 SKETCH OF THE

same Diet for the introduction of the communion

of two kinds, and the marriage of priests.

Attempts of The Roman Catholic clergy attempted to evade

clergy to evade the above-mentioned decision of the diet, andthat enactment. . .

continued its excommunications against all those

who were abandoning the pale of their church.

The bishops tried to induce the starosts by all

means, and chiefly by the threats of excommu

nication, to execute their orders, and it happenedsometimes that a few of those magistrates, devoted

to the Roman Catholic church, showed a dispo

sition to support its pretensions, until the Diet of

1562 enacted a positive law, that no starost was

to act contrary to the regulations of the Diet of

Jedlno, which gave no power to the ecclesiastical

decrees.*

The church affected to regard the excommuni

cated persons as civilly dead, and denied their

right to appear in judgment and to give evidence,

and continued to annoy them by different petty

vexations ;but the enactments of 1562, 1563, and

1565, which were only a confirmation and development of that of 1552, decided that persons whofell under the ecclesiastical censure were not

affected by it in their civil rights. The church

* Vide Volumina Legum for that year. The statute of Jedlno

( 1430) enacts that the starosts should execute the decrees of the

territorial tribunals, without mentioningany other kind of juris

diction.


could declare a person a heretic and excommunicate whomever it liked, but the object of

such condemnation continued to enjoy all the

rights of a citizen.

Orzechowski, who may be considered as the

principal cause of the events which we have

described, and whose works had greatly contri

buted to the overthrow of the barriers which the

Roman Catholic church opposed to the progressof the Reformation, could have easily become the

leader of the Protestant party. He soon, however, betrayed by the fickleness of his character, Versatility of

Orzechowski,and the versatility of his opinions, the high voca- whore-

i i iconciliates

tion to which his great talents and bold character

seemed to entitle him. The life of that extraor- iu.

dinary individual is indeed one of the most strik

ing proofs, that the highest talent, destitute of

principle, is unable to produce any thing that is

really great or good. The Diet of 1552 wasstill engaged in rendering inefficient the pro

ceedings of the ecclesiastical courts against the

heretics, when Orzechowski, who was chiefly

instrumental in bringing about this memorable

transaction, so hostile to the Roman church in

Poland, was seeking a reconciliation with that

very church. On the 17th February 1552, he

obtained an absolution from his excommunication

; presented to a Roman Catholic synod a

declaration of his entire adherence to its tenets,

and resigned his ecclesiastical dignities. He

192 SKETCH OF THE

But again

quarrels with

them.

Orzechowski s

letters to the

to the PopesJulius the 1 1 Id,

and Paul the

IVth.

submitted to the authority of Rome his marriage,

a confirmation of which was promised to him bythe bishops, who did every thing in order to

seduce from the Protestant party such a powerful

writer as he was. The primate Dzierzgowski

confirmed, on the 14th March 1553, the absolu

tion of Orzechowski.

The Pope, however, was delaying to give a

decision on that important subject, as he dared

not to approve the marriage of a Roman priest ;

besides, Orzechowski was no longer so dangerous

as he had formerly been, having lost, by desert

ing his former opinions, the extraordinary influ

ence which he had exercised over all the nation.

He soon perceived that Rome wished only to

amuse him, and he began again to attack it

with powerful arguments and the most bitter

invectives.

In order to give an idea of the virulence of his

writings, we shall quote some passages of his

letters addressed to Pope Julius III :" O holy

father, I conjure you for God s sake, for the sake

of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the holy angels !

do read what I am writing to you, and give mean answer

;do not play any tricks with me

;I

shall not give you any money ;I wish not to have

any bargains with you ; you have taken gratis,

you must give it alsogratis."

In another place he

addresses the same pontiff:"

Consider,O Julius,

and consider it well, with what a man you will


have to do not with an Italian, indeed, but with

a Russian; not with one of your mean popish

subjects, but with the citizen of a kingdom,where the monarch himself is obliged to obeythe law. You may condemn me, if you like, to

death, but you will not have done with me: the

king will not execute your sentence. The cause

will be submitted to the Diet. Your Romansbow their knees before the crowd of your menials

;

they bear on their necks the degrading yoke of

the Roman scribes; but such is not the case with

us, where the law rules even the throne. The kina*oour lord cannot do what he likes

;he must do what

the law prescribes. He will not say, as soon as youwill give him a sign with your finger, or twinkle

before his eyes with the fisherman s ring, Stanis

laus Orzechowski, Pope Julius wishes you should

go into exile; go therefore. I assure you that

the king cannot wish that which you do. Outlaws allow him not to imprison, or to exile anyone, who has not been condemned by a competent tribunal."*

The works of Orzechowski were put into the

papal index, and he was declared himself by the

ecclesiastical writers to be a servant of Satan.|

*

Apud Ossolinski, Orzechowski calls himself a Russian,

being, as we have already said, a native of the Palatinate of

that name.

f Prcmislcnsis Episcopus Stanislaum Orichovium Saiance ad-

ministrum judicwrum severitati subjecit. Raynaldus.

VOL. I. O

194 SKETCH OF THE

But this proceeding excited only new and more

vehement attacks on the part of Orzechowski,

who assailed Pope Paul the IVth in the follow

ing words :" Since the abominable Caraffa, who

calls himself Paul the IVth, has ejected from the

church Moses and Christ, I shall willingly fol

low them. Can I consider it as a disgrace to be

a companion of those whom he calls heretics?

This anathema will be an honour and a crown to

me. The neglect of the ancient discipline has

corrupted and degraded us. Paul the IVth, take

care to prevent the final fall of your see. Clear

the city from its crimes;eradicate avarice

; despise

the profits arising from the sale of your favours.

I shall clearly explain, and prove to my country

men, that Roman corruption does more harm to

the church than the Lutheran perversity." Hecovered the same Pope with the most opprobrious

names, as for instance," a sacrilege, a human

monster, a wolf, scoundrel, drone, ass, ravenous

beast, &c." Besides these invectives which he

addressed to the Roman pontiff, Orzechowski

announced a new work, entitled "

RepudiumRomse,"* in which he was to expose all the

errors and crimes of the Popes ; entirely secede

from the Roman church, and pass over to the

Greek one, which was followed at that time by a

great part of the inhabitants of his native province.

* The manuscript of that work was read by Modrzewski.


Orzechowski, who was again excommunicated in

1557, by the primate Dzierzgowski, for his attacks

on the church of Rome, returned soon afterwards

to the obedience of the same church that had

excited his hostility. The death of his wife re

moved a great obstacle to his reconciliation with

the Roman clergy, who were glad to silence such

a desperate antagonist, and to convert him into a

useful tool for combating their enemies. Orze

chowski had become dangerous to the clergy,

particularly by the strong arguments, couched in

the most violent language, always acceptable to

the multitude of readers, with which he advocated

the expulsion of the bishops from the senate.

The observations which he published on the oath

of fidelity to the Roman see taken by the bishops, His pungent

proved forcibly that they could not be entrusted oato of fidelity

with public offices;that a R. C. bishop invested

with the dignity of a senator of the realm, was ne-R Cl bihhops

cessarily a traitor to his country, as he was obliged

to prefer the interests ofRome to those of his sove

reign, having sworn allegiance firstly to the Popeand then to the king. "The oath," says Orze

chowski, addressing the king" abolishes the li

berty of the bishops, and renders them spies of the

nation, and of, the monarch. The higher clergy

having voluntarily submitted to this slavery, have

entered by the same into a conspiracy, and raised

a rebellion against their own country. Conspiring

against you, they were sitting in your council,

o 2

196 SKETCH OF THE

they were investigating your plans, and reporting

them to their foreign master. If you would, for

the benefit of the public cause, limit the papal

usurpations, they would proclaim their excommu

nications, and excite some bloody riots. The Popehas emitted from his bosom the monks, who like

the locusts fell on your lands. Look only on all

those crowds who are conspiring against you:

how numerous and how barbarous they are!

Cast your looks on the abbots, convents, chapters,

and synods, and be assured that as many shaven

crowns you will meet, so many conspirators youhave. Surrounded with every kind of luxury, and

similar to well-fed swine, they live amidst their

paramours a comfortable and blessed life, and fat

ten themselves for the pasture of hell. It is very

indifferent to them whether you are triumphantor humiliated, whether the country is happy or

miserable. Has not a bishop said to your ances

tor, Let rather the whole kingdom perish than

the treasury of the church, being the heritage of

the Pope and not of the king, should giv7e one

single penny to the wants of the public ?* Other

* The Polish clergy were indeed very rich. For instance : An

dreas Lipski, bishop of Cracow in 1630, left at his death 900,000

ducats (about 450,000) in cash, without reckoning his mobi-

liary. John Kuczborski, bishop of Chelm in 1623, left 500,000

ducats. Caraffa, bishop of Plock in 1615, bequeathed to his

brother 7,000,000 dollars. The incomes of the bishops must

have been immense if. notwithstanding a great expense which

they


countries having perceived how dangerous it

is to admit the servants of the Pope to the

government of the country, excluded the bishopsfrom their senates

; follow their example that

of the Venetians, for instance. It is necessary to

enact a law which would preserve to the clergy

only their spiritual duties, and deprive them of

political government. Let them baptise and preach,but not direct the affairs of the country. If, how

ever, they wish to retain the senatorial dignity, let

them renounce the allegiance of Rome. Is the

Polish church not sufficient for them ? But other

wise, they must not be considered as citizens of

the country, because no one can conscientiouslyserve two masters. The Pope imposes a yoke bymeans of his slaves, the monks and the bishops, to

the very king, although the royal authority is

independent, and derived from God."*

they were obliged to make, they could save such enormous

sums, which established the fortunes of many a family in Poland. The expense to which the Polish bishops were exposedwas indeed very great. They were obliged to keep princelyestablishments ; many of them maintained at their costs regi

ments for the service of the state ; they were bound to exercise

a most profuse hospitality; and it is a well-known anecdote that

an eminent clergyman refused a bishopric,, saying that he

did not wish to become a cook to the Polish nobles.

*Deprimatu Papa, 8vo. 1558. It was published anony

mously, without the place of printing, and some doubts were

entertained as to its real author; but Modrzewski positively states

that it was written by Orzechowski. Vide his Narratio simplex.

198 SKETCH OF THE

Orzechowski limited not his attacks against

Rome to the political supremacy of the Popes,but he likewise impugned their spiritual autho

rity, proving that it was entirely founded on a

false interpretation of the words addressed by our

Saviour to Peter," Thou art Peter, and upon this

rock I will build my church."

Such were the assaults which that unprincipled

man directed against the Roman Catholic church,

as long as its precepts presented an opposition to

his unbridled passions. But after the death of

his wife, when the chief obstacle to his reconci

liation with the Roman church was removed by it,

and when his growing age gave to ambition and

avarice a preponderance over other passions

which excited that violent character, Orzechow

ski recanted again all his writings against the

Roman Catholic church, and became finally re-

conciled with it in 1559. After that time he

^ecame as zealous a champion of the RomanR. c. church, cniircn as he had formerly been its antagonist.and turns Ins ^

attacks against f[e now directed his hostility against the Protes-its antagonists.

tants, with the same virulence and scurrility

which characterises his works against Rome.

Andreas Modrzewski and the Italian Stancari,

who may be considered as two individuals whohave exercised the greatest influence on the

religious affairs in Poland, and who consequentlydeserve a particular notice, now became the chief

objects of his hatred.

He becomes


Andreas Frycz Modrzewski was born in the Andcas Mo-

palatinate of Sandomir in 1506, and embraced character ana

the opinions of the reformers during the preceding*

reign,* although he never publicly joined anyone of the Protestant persuasions which became

established during his life time.f In 1534 he went

*Afferekantur libriejus (Luthcri) ex Germania ad ?ios, ac

in ipsa academia Cracovicnsi publice vendebantur, Icgcbantur a

multis rerum novarum cupidis ; ncc a Thcohgis nostris improba-

rentur tantum abcst, ut libros vetitos legerent, ut ctiam cos igni

crcmarent, atque in nostra Polonia in/initi esscnt, qui sc in illorum

disciplinam tradiderunt, quam ct complecterunt ctfalerentur ct pro-

Jitcrcntur. Cum libros cognoscendi causa lcgisscm,Jieri non potc-

rat) quin opinioncs vctcres in me minuerentur, novae concipercntur."

This narration gives an idea of the general disposition of minds

amongst the most enlightened persons in Poland at that time.

f "Scholce cujus paries mihi sumpsi, hoc semper datumJuit, tit

de rebus quibusvis dissererct. Nolo ut quisquam se mihi addicat :

nam neque ipse mihi satisfacio, ncc cuiquam addictus sum : nee

utiy nee illi nos numerarunt in suis." He wanted to discuss reli

gious matters with a philosophical calm. "Philosophia adhibcnda,

tanquam instrumentum et ratio quadam ac via vcritatis inqui-

rcndce! He had a great dislike to theological subtleties. " Ccs-

serunt illi labyrinthi de naturae et pcrsonce diversce distinct tone ;

de quo quidem a multis scribuntur ct dicuntur multo sonu. An

vero ab aliquo intelliguntur pcrsuadere mihi non possum. Laborc

maximo discuntur, fructu vcro minimo aid potms nullo." He re

commended peace, charity, preaching of pure evangelical doc

trine, and good works ; and says : "hoc sifeccrimus magisjinem

et perfectionem theologies assequcmur, quern si omnia quczstionum

genera ediscamus ct perdiscamus. Rcdcundum nobis ad simplici-

tatem profcssionis apostolica. Non in subtiUtate vcrborum, nee

intcllcctus varia considerationc pietas religiosa constitit. Cur tor-

tuosas ct obscura varietatc implicatas cxcogitamus formulas, qua:

in

200 SKETCH OF THE

to the university of Wittemberg, where he com

pleted his studies under the direction of Melanc-

thon, whose friendship and esteem he fully

possessed.* After having remained for some

time in other parts of Germany, he returned to

his country, where he became secretary to Sigis-

rnund Augustus, and succeeded in gaining the

unlimited confidence of that monarch. The par

ticulars of the life of that remarkable man are very

little known. All that we know is, that his

works were written or published between 1548

and I565.t

in re fundamentum habeant nullum." We are much afraid that

this view of religion was bordering on indifference; for what

other motive could induce Modrzewski to remain within the

pale of the Roman church, whose abuses and superstitions he

had condemned in a decided manner ? He says positively, in

one place, that he followed the opinions of the school of Pinczow

andDubiecko: "quam ego sequar scholam Pinczoviensium et Du-

biecensem," (vide his Narratio simplex.} But those schools which

were at that time under the influence of Stancari had not yet

any defined opinion about the doctrine of the Trinity, which the

first of them only afterwards rejected, and therefore we do not

think that Bock is right in calling Modrzewski aSocinian; vide

his History of Socinianism.

*"Me SfBpe in rebus duris consilio et oratione sud juvit et

crcxit" says Melancthon of Modrzewski. Vide Boch. Hist.

Socinian.

f The principal works of Modrzewski are: 1. "De homici-

diis,"four Speeches. 2. "De ntruque specie Eucharistice a

Lalcis sumenda, Prugce 1549." 3. "De republicd emendandd,

libri quinque -,"viz. Imo. (de Moribus. 2Jo. lde LegibusJ 3tio.

<de


He was abused by the Roman Catholic writers,

<de Bello. 4to. de Ecclesia. 5to. de Schola The last book

is decidedly anti-Roman. Cracow, 1551. Basil, 1554 and 1559-

The edition of Cracow contains not the book dc Schola. It was

translated into German, French, and Spanish. 4." De Icgatis

ad consilium mittendis" (according to Bock, Cracow 1546). It

was dedicated to John Tarnowski, to whom the author says :

ft in duris temporibus meis hospitium prcebueris."It is the most an

ti-Roman of all Modrzewski s works, and it excited much anger

from the Roman Catholics. 5. " De Ecclesia, liber sccundus"

dedicated to Pope Paul the Fourth, with an evident irony.

6. A treatise against the enactment of 1543, which gave ex

clusively to the nobles the right of possessing landed property,

published under the name of Philatetes. 7. " De mcdiatore,

libri ires" dedicated to the reformed Synods of Vodzislav and

Xionz, as well as to Stanislav Stadnicki and Hieronymus

Ossolinski, two grandees following the same persuasion, in 1560;

he leans in that work to the opinions of Stancari. 8. Three

books on the Sin, on the Free-will, and on Predestination, in

1563. 9. On the means of making war against the Infidels.

The arcbiepiscopal library of Lambeth possesses a Spanish

translation in manuscript of that work, which was sent to the

King of England by the translator, John Justiniani of Padua.

10. "

Sylvte quatuor ;"the first and second of them dedi

cated to the king, in December 1565; the third to Pope Pius

the Fifth, in June 1568 ; the fourth to James Uchanski, archbi

shop of Gniezno and primate of Poland, in June 1569 : all

the four were published at Racow in 1592. This work was

written by the express order of king Sigismund Augustus, who

had charged Modrzewski to give him an account of the state of

religious parties in Poland. It savours strongly of a philoso

phical indifference about the principal dogmas of the Christian

religion, an indifference which seems to have been shared by his

royal master, and which accounts for the vacillating conduct

which Sigismund Augustus held in respect to the religious

parties

202 SKETCH OF THE

and also praised by some of them ;* but he gained

a universal approbation from the Protestants,t

and the general respect of the most eminent

scholars of Europe. Sigismund Augustus con

stantly recurred to his advice ;and although he

occupied only the subordinate station of a royal

parties which agitated his dominions. The above-mentioned

work is exceedingly rare,, but the archiepiscopal library of

Lambeth possesses a copy of it." Narratio simplex rei novce et

ejusdem pessimi exempli, Pincsow 1561." It contains the

account of his differenes with Orzechowski.

*Lippomani says : Soleo Librum Fricii aliquando legere ; video

virum bonum esse et doctum, sed illud non laudo quod scripserit

contra confcssionem Petricoviensem." We have already mentioned

that creed ; but the work alluded to by Lippomani seems to

have been lost, and we quote the words of Lippomani from

Modrzewski himself ce Andreas Modrcvius nefariis dogmalibus

imbutus infectabat ecclesice paries. Scripsit nihilominus egregium

de moribus libellum ; itemque allium de legibus in quo ingentem

facundue suce vim et ingenii vires declaravit. Scripserat et de schold

atque ecclesid ; sed quia hacce erroribus resperserat, ideo a probis

et piis contempti periere cum sonitu sicuti et alia cjus scripta, his

exceptis in quibus nullam religionis mentionemfecit."Starowolski

Scriptorum Polonorum, page 77.

f Modrzewski himself quotes the following letter addressed

to him byJohn Justiniani :" Nullum opus supra mille annos exisse

in lucem prceclarius : a condito urbe nullum aliud vel veterum

vel recentiorum simile illi hactenus cditum esse. Me evangclicorum

omniumfere acutissimum et doctissimumtanti te facio et scripta

tua Fricij ut ne syllabam quidcm interire velim. Tanti ego omnia

etfeci hactenus et etiamnumfacio} ut nullo cujusquam prcejudicio

ilia mihi vilcscere patiar. Vide Modrzewski s Sylva III. : it was

written in 1555


secretary, he directed the most important affairs

of the state. He was employed in many embassies;

as, for instance, to Brunswick, Denmark, Prus

sia, to king Ferdinand, and to the emperor Charles

theVth.

It was but natural that an individual of such

talent, learning, and influence as Modrzewski,was sought to be enrolled as a partisan by the

church of Rome, and that he was much detested

by the same church for having rejected its offers.

The Roman Catholic clergy were particularly

alarmed by the views which Modrzewski deve

loped in his dissertation on the church, and of

which we shall hereafter amply speak. The

popes Paul the IVth and Pius the Vth excommunicated Modrzewski, and enjoined to the

Polish clergy to prosecute him as a heretic.

But as the ecclesiastical censures produced then

very little effect in Poland, the clergy sought for

a champion who should be able to cope with

such a powerful enemy as Modrzewski was. Theyfound him in Orzechowski, to whom they promised a full pardon of his past errors, and manyadvantages, if he would attack Modrzewski.

Orzechowski displayed on that occasion a great

meanness of character, having not only acceptedhe proposition of assailing his former friend,*

* Modrzewski had dedicated his work on the Eucharist

to Stanislao Orichovio Ruthcno amico suo.

204 SKETCH OF THE

but chiefly, by taking advantage of the con

fidential conversations which he had formerly

had with Modrzewski on religious subjects. Heaccused him before an ecclesiastical tribunal,

insisting that if Modrzewski would not publicly

recant those opinions, he should be declared a

convicted heretic. The accusation produced, how

ever, no consequences, as the tribunal, daring

not to judge such an influential man as Modrzewski, who, moreover, had not seceded from

the Roman church by any overt act, evaded the

cognizance of a cause, which could have no other

result than to widen the breach which separated

Modrzewski from the Roman clergy. The chief

object against whom Orzechowski vented his

ra:e, when he became the champion of the RomanStancan, prin

cipal object of Catholic church, was the Italian Stancari,* athe attacks of

Orzechowski.

*Stancari, or Stancar, was born at Mantua in 1501 : we know

very little about his fortunes in Italy. Tiraboschi says, that he

published in Italy in 1525, a Hebrew grammar ; and states, 011

Gerdensius authority., that he composed, in his native country,

a treatise on the Reformation, in Italian, which was printed at

Basil 1547, and dedicated to the magistrates of Venice. Tira

boschi thinks that it was during his residence at the terra de

Spilmbergo, in Friul, where he was, about the time of the

publication of the above-mentioned work, professor of Hebrew.

(Vide Tiraboschi s Storia delta Litteratura Italiana, vol. vii.

part ii. p. 368.) M Crie, who quotes the above-mentioned pas

sage of Tiraboschi, states also that Stancari took a part in the

dissensions which agitated the Protestant Italian church at

Chiavenna, and that in 1547 he was obliged to flee from

Augsburg


native of Mantua, who was called to Cracowas a professor of Hebrew. We have alreadymentioned that, having publicly attacked the

worship of saints, and manifested other Protestant opinions, he was imprisoned ; but beingreleased by the influence of some nobles professingthe same religious opinions as himself, he retired

to Pinczow, where he induced Olesnicki, the lord

of that place, to set the first example of intro

ducing the reformed worship, instead of the

Roman Catholic service. He w^ent afterwards

for some tiuie to Konigsberg, where he engagedin a dispute with Osiander* about the mediation

Augsburg to Constance, in company with Ochino, for fear of

being delivered to the emperor Charles theVth. (Vide M Crie s

History of the Reformation in Italy, pp. 370, 382.) He arrived

at Cracow about 1550, being called from Villach, in Carynthia,

by the bishop of Cracow, Maciejowski, whoapparently was

ignorant of his Protestant opinions. We refer our readers for

farther particulars about Stancari to the Historical and Critical

Dictionary of Bayle, who devoted about eight pages in folio

to him.

* Osiander maintained that man is justified by God s essen

tial justice, and that Jesus Christ is our righteousness, accordingto his divine nature ; but Stancari asserted, that Jesus Christ

is our mediator according to his human nature only. It is

said that he borrowed that doctrine from Peter Lombard, for

whom he had such a veneration, that he was used to say," Peter Lombard alone is worth one hundred Luthers, twohundred Melancthons, three hundred Bullingers, four hundred

Martyrs, five hundred Calvins, who, if they were all poundedtogether in a mortar, would not produce one ounce of sound

divinity."

206 SKETCH OF THE

of Jesus Christ. Having visited Hungary and

Transylvania, in order to promote the cause of

reformation in those countries, he returned

again to Poland. He published the rules for

organizing the Polish churches,* which he wrote

on the in vitation of some Protestant noblemen

of Poland,^ and dedicated to king Sigismund

Augustus. When Stancari returned to Poland,

the church of Pinczow began to agitate those

questions which have led to the anti-Trinitarian

doctrines, and produced a sect hostile to all reli-

divinity."A pretty specimen of the polemical style of that

time. Vide Bayle.

*They appeared at Francfort-on-the-Maine, under the title

of Canoncs Reformationis EcclesiarumPolonia, fifty canons. Weknow them only by Orzechowski s work,

" Chimera/ written

against Stancari, and published at Cologne 1563.

f He says in his dedication to the king :" A quibusdam nobi-

libus tuis pits legitime vocatusjui, ut ecclesias reformarem, ut in illis

puram Christi doctrinam pro falsa, ac veram religionis pietatem

pro impio cultu idolatricorum restituerem, mores ac disciplinam

tarn cleri quam populorum corrigerem. Episcopi abominandam

idolatriam defendant, falsam doctrinam docent, bonis ccclesiarum

abutuntur, corrigi nolunt cum sciant, si res ad judicium delata

esset, se causam suam tueri non posse, illico ad majestatem tuam

accusarunt, et nobiles illos et me cum quibusdam pits ministris

seditionis auctores, rerum novarum amatores, wide non cognita

causa omnes condemnati sumus ac negotium reformationis imper-

fectum"The condemnation of Stancari and his fellow minis

ters is not mentioned by any author, and we have extracted

that passage from the above-mentioned work of Orzechowski," Chimera/ &c. Vide Bayle, article 0richovius et Stancar."


gious revelation. These dangerous questions

were however agitated at that time with great

caution, and no overt attack on the mystery of

the Trinity had as yet been made. Stancari has

tened considerably, although without intention,

the development of the anti-Trinitarian opinions,

by putting forward the dogma, that the mediation

of Jesus Christ was made only according to his

human nature. This raised a violent dispute, in

which the divines of Geneva took a decided part

against Stancari, whose opinions were also con

demned by the reformed synods of Xionz and

Sandomir, which sentenced his works to be burnt.

Stancari retired to Stobnitza, where he died in 1 574,

having left a family, whose descendants still con

tinue in Poland, bearing the name of Stancari, and

professing the reformed religion.

The rules or canons of Stancari which wehave mentioned, do not exhibit any new doctrine

different from those that have been established

by other reformers. We know them only from

the work of Orzechowski, who copied those which

he considered to be the most pernicious and added

to them his own observations, written in a RomanCatholic sense, and replete with his characteristic

scurrility. The principal of them are The singingof the mass is an idolatry. The Eucharist is onlya sign and a remembrance of the Lord s supper.The service is to be performed in the national

language. The images of saints and martyrs

208 SKETCH OF THE

must not be worshipped. The ancient customs

may be abolished. The episcopal office or dignity

should be given only to such as are able to fulfil

its duties. It is necessary to establish a school

for teaching pure divinity, eloquence, languages,

and logic ;and the revenue of the church may

be conscienciously applied to such a sacred use.

The permission of the authority is not requisite

for doing good. We must be obedient to the

supreme ruler, Jesus Christ, but not to his vicars,

who have rebelled against him. The church must

convoke frequent synods and meetings. The ex

ample of the church of Pinczow, which held

weekly meetings, deserves to be imitated. The

ministers of religion and the teachers of schools

ought to be paid from the public treasury. But

the maxim for which Orzechowski particularly

inveighs against Stancari is, that if the king

should be opposed to the reform of the church,

the nation had the right of doing it by itself,*

Orzechowski attacked Stancari not by argumentsfounded on the scriptures or ecclesiastical autho

rity, but with the most violent abuse, calling him

by every opprobrious name that he could invent,

* Orzechowski calls this a criminal levelling of the king

with the people:l<

Huncjurcifermn Stancarum^ ausum esse licec

verborum portenta in Polonid edere, vivo Rege ac Senatu : fur,

latro, nebulo." Orzechowski seems to forget that the first Chris

tians abandoned idolatry without the permission of the em

peror and the senate.


and the extravagant ideas of Papal supremacywhich he advocated in the above-mentioned work,"

Chimera," made even some Roman Catholics un

easy about their effect* It would be uninterestingto enumerate all the injurious terms whichOrzechowski applied to the object of his hostility ;

but we shall only give a few of his general re

marks on the state of the country, and which afforda fair specimen of the arguments and languageof the party which he defended at that time :

" The abominable locusts of Arians, of Macedonians, Eutychians, and Nestorians have fallen

in our fields. They increase and spread over all

Poland and Lithuania, through the supineness ofour magistrates. An insolent mob scatters fire,

destroys the churches, perverts the laws, corruptsthe manners, despises the authority, and degradesthe government. It will overturn the throne

destroy the state. It is much more important to

defeat the heretical fury, than the Moscovite

enemy. "f

Orzechowski accused Stancari of destroyingreligion and the existing political order

;of excit

ing the youths to dangerous innovations;of under-

* Cardinal Hosius wrote to Orzechowski: Chimera tuamultorum virorum doctissimorum territur manibus et eorumjudiciovehementer probatur. Quam et ego legi lubcns, teque de ista

pra>-

clara voluntate tuendce Jtdei catholicce non possum non vche-

mcnter laudare" Vide Hosii Opera.

t Apud Ossolinski, tome iii. p. 422.

VOL. I. P

210 SKETCH OF THE

mining the lawful authorities;of arousing the

lower against the upper classes;of flattering the

mobs, by recommending the spoliation of church

property ;of introducing the community of goods,

and abolishing private property ;of introducing

a perfect equality amongst all the inhabitants of

the country, so that there should be neither mas

ters nor servants. As we have no opportunity of

consulting the original work of Stancari, which

we doubt very much is in existence, and must

therefore judge of it only by what we know from

Orzechowski, we are unable to form an opinion

whether Stancari had really expressed some ideas

about the extension of political rights, which

were exclusively possessed in Poland by the no

bles, to the other classes of the community ;or

whether the accusation of his antagonist is no

thing more than a repetition of the general out

cry raised by the Roman Catholics against the

reformers, that they aimed at the destruction of

the established political and social order. The

system which Orzechowski advocated in opposi

tion to Stancari, as the only one by which the

state could be saved from an imminent destruction,

was that which the Roman Catholic Church tried

everywhere to oppose to the progress of the

Political doc- reformation. It was that of strictly maintaining

ze-

rt

the ancient laws and customs, without allowing

rec

e

on. anv religious or political innovation;to crush

withheresy, and to restore to the Roman Catholics


an unlimited authority ; that the clergy shouldbe considered as the first class of the country,which directs and judges the nation, but cannotbe judged itself by any one

; that every temporal

authority should be subject to the pope, and the

king himself ought to be only the servant, the

tool, and the sword of the clergy. No other,

perhaps, has asserted in a more explicit andbold manner the supremacy of Rome over the

monarchsof Christendom than Orzechowski, whosays,

" the king is established only that he should

serve the clergy. The supreme pontiff alone

establishes kings, and as he establishes them, hehas an authority over them. The hand of a priestis the hand of Jesus Christ himself. The abolition

of the archbishop of Gnezno would be followed

by the abolition of the Polish crown, the over

throw of the royalty, and the fall of Polanditself. The archbishop of Gnezno is the corner

stone of the state, the first magistrate of the

realm, the guardian of the public liberty; he

defends the nation, and limits the power of the

monarch. The authority of St. Peter cannot be

subject to any other, but is superior to all;

it

pays neither tribute nor taxes. The mission

of the priest is superior to that of the king.The king is the subject of the clergy ;

the

king is nothing without the priest. The popehas the right of depriving the king of his

crown. The priest serves the altar, but the king

p 2

212 SKETCH OF THE

serves the priest, and is only his armed minister.

The king of Poland is the servant of the priests,

and is established that no one should dare to rise

against the ecclesiastical authority." Orzechowski,

who maintained that there could be no know

ledge of God beyond the pale of the domination

of the pope,* represented the state in the form of

a triangle, the top of which w^as held by the

clergy, and the body was constituted by the king

and the nobles. The remainder of the nation

was nothing, and the author only recommended

to the nobles to govern the people with a paternal

rule. Such were the opinions publicly broached

by the very man who, a short time before, attacked

with an unbridled virulence the same church to

which he attempted now to give such a decided

supremacy over the state.

The opinions about the supremacy of the

spiritual over the temporal authorities, which

Orzechowski, pushed by the vehemence of his

ungovernable passions, proclaimed without any

disguise, must have a considerable value in the

eyes of every reflecting reader, because they maybe considered as a faithful exposition of the

principles by which the world would have been

governed, if the Roman Catholic church had

succeeded in crushing its adversaries. Orze-

*" Deurn pcrdidisti, qui extra papatum ncque scitur ncque

cognoscitur."Vide "

Chimerae."


diovvski did nothing but proclaim the opinionswhich were entertained by the Roman Catholic

church : and the greatest luminary of that churchin Poland, Cardinal Hosius, of whom we shall

have ample opportunity of speaking, gave his

unqualified approbation* to the propositions of

Orzechowski, who perfectly well expressed howlittle the interests of the Roman clergy wereconnected with those of the country, having the

impudence to declare that it was much better to

abandon the realm to the Moscovites than to

heretics. These wishes have been alas, realized !

Protestantism was crushed in Poland, and the

Moscovite domination is established !

This dangerous ally could not, however, restore

the lost influence of the Roman Catholic church

* Hosius wrote to Orzechowski, "Nihil cst triangulo tuo vcrius,

nam ubinon est altare nequesacerdos, ibi neque Regnum legitimum

cognosco, dubium non cst." There is no doubt that by saccrdos is

meant only a Roman priest, as the same Hosius saysil me vides

assiduum, acrcm atque acerbum, hcereticorum in Polonia advcr-

sarium." (aim. 1563. Hosii Opera.) According to such a doc

trine, only Roman Catholic civil authorities are legitimate.The doctrine of the supremacy of the Pope over the monarchsof Christendom has been defended in our days to the sameextent as it was done by Orzechowski, but in a more refined

style, by authors of first-rate talent, as the Count Desmaistrc

(vide his Soirees de S. Petersbourg : du Pape;) and by thel Abbede Lamennaisj who, having been the defender of despotism and

popery, afterwards changed his opinions to another extreme,with a

versatility equal to that of Orzechowski.

214 SKETCH OF THE

in Poland, whose condition, according to the

confession of its most zealous defenders, was at

that time quite desperate*

Nothing remained

to that superannuated establishment, but carefully

*Many Roman Catholic writers attest the desperate condition

in which their church was placed at that time in Poland : for

instance, Piasecki, a Roman Catholic bishop, says :" Senatus

rcgni jam majori parte constabat ex h&reticis"ft Vix non major

pars senatus, maxima etiam equestri ordinis novas de religione

sentential sequebatur." Heidenstein. "Illis temporibus res catho-

licorumfer^ deplorata erat, cum in amplissimo scnatu vix unus at-

que alter, pr&ter episcopos, qui se insanis molitionibus opponerent,

reperiebatur" Cichocki ColloquiaOsiecensia. "Ita ea lues in-

valuerat, ut senatus, quidem major pars ex h&reticis constarct,

idem inter equestrem ordinem, non quidem numero, sed ad

quavis functiones obeundas dexteritate eminerent, primasque

et in privatis et in publicis conciliis ac conventibus sibi paries

vindicarent" Lubienski de gerendo Episcopatu.t( Cum interea

tales (Calviniani) vel ipsis Lutheranis tarn detestabiles in

senatu regio prima loca propemodum obtineant et prce-cetceris

apud majestatem regiam gratid et authoritate valere, dicuntur"

Hosius, Epistolse Clarorum virorum. Rome itself despaired

of retaining Poland under its domination, as it is manifest

from the evidence of a papal writer :" Hceresim ipsam jam

inter aliquos ex vestris ( Episcopis ) Polonies ita irrcpere, ac

cceteras omnes ita perturbare cccpisse, ut nulla spes apud nos, pr&tcr

quam in Deo ipso atque in hac sancta sede relicta esse videatur."

Raynaldus, anno 1555-6. "Malum ?ionparum auctum et corro-

boratum esse intelleximus, ne natio ilia universa corrumpatur,

atque in id mali genusfacile incidat, quod aut nunquam, aut raro

xanaripossit."

Ibidem. (C Potentesfamilies diversas hcereses am-

flexcs omnibus nervis et machinis ecclesiasticum ordinem impetebant,

ne Episcopijurisdictione sua in profligandis hcsresibus et puniendis

impiis uterentnr." Bzovius, ad ann. 1555. Such was the reli

gious


to avoid every commotion by which its edifice,

already shaken by the hostile attacks of the

growing Protestantism, would fall to pieces. Toremain stationary amidst the intellectual move

ment of the time, and to avoid every change in

its organization, was the line of policy which it

adopted, and which was, perhaps, the only one

which it could follow for some time.

gious state of Poland during the middle of the sixteenth century,

according to the evidence of the Roman Catholic writers which

we have quoted ; we may therefore credit the statement of the

and-Romanist writers, that at the accession of Sigismund the

Third there were, besides the bishops, only seven Roman Ca

tholics in the Polish senate, and even less in that of Lithuania,

(vide Wengierski, and Vmdicice Unitariorum apud Sandius. The

state of the Roman Catholic clergy in Poland at that time is

described by one of the most zealous defenders of their cause,

Cardinal Hosius, quoted in the following words :" Quo majorc

sumus reprchensio?ie digni, quod Dei regno posthabiio quod inter

nos est, Sathance potius regnum qucBrimus : etc verbo quidcm ut

adveniat nobis regnum Christi qucerimus, re vero ipsum Sathanam

in nobis rcgnare volumus. Dolenter dico, omnes prope derelicto

regno Dei, Satliance regnum qucerimus, multum nos ab qfficii nostri

religione declinare, neque alii fore rei quam cogercndis opibus

avide inhiarc. Solo nomine spirituales, re vero ipsa plus quam

carnales, plus quam seculares, nos esse conspiciant. Nomen Dei

per nos blasphcmetur : pleros a Jide nostra Christiana proptcr

mores nostros impuros discessere. Recessimus de via, scandali-

semus plurimos, nihil minim st, si dedit nos Dcus contemptibiles."

Epistola x. 1556. The same author says of a clergyman who

had offices at the court :" Sold aula Deum sic colcrc, nc diabolum

offendat:

CHAPTER IV.

COUNCIL OF TRENT, AND ATTEMPTS AT THE CONVO-

CATION OF A GENERAL NATIONAL SYNOD.

POLAND, although still apparently Roman Ca

tholic, under the reign of Sigismund the First,

evinced a strong and general desire to have the

abuses of the church reformed by a general coun

cil, where all the sects which divided Christianity

should be freely represented, considering, with

great justice, such a council as the only means

of pacifying the disturbed church. The king was

particularly anxious to restore by the above-

mentioned means the peace of his own country,

where the Protestant doctrines were making ra

pid progress ;and he recalled the delegates which

he had commissioned to the Council of Trent,

when it was transferred to Bologna in March

1547, because the deputies of the Protestants

could not safely go to the last-mentioned place.

It would be foreign to our immediate subject to

expatiate on the obstacles that Rome, being taught

by the experience ofthe councils ofConstance and


Basil, which had destroyed its omnipotence, threw

into the way of the convocation of an independent

general council. The Polish clergy, however,threatened by an imminent danger from the rapidincrease of the Protestants, were very anxious for

the convocation of such a council. This opinionwas also much supported by the leading reformers

and by the most enlightened part of the nation,

who, although very favourable to the doctrines of

the reformation, were afraid of the violent commotions which its introduction had caused in

many parts of Europe. Nicolas Dzierzgowski,

archbishop of Gnezno, and primate of Poland,whom we have already mentioned as a zealous

Roman Catholic, and who would have employedthe most severe measures against the Protestants

if it had been in his power to do so, addressed a

letter to Pope Paul the Third, in 1547, in the

name of the synod of his province, in which he

represented to him, in a submissive but decided

manner, the necessity of a council in which all

the opinions should obtain a hearing ;a demand

which, it is superfluous to add, was not acceded to.*

* The letter alluded to expresses, in a cautious but clear

manner, the necessity of admitting the deputies of a bordering

country, id est, of Protestant Germany. "Scrmones quorundam

audiebantur, quorum non parva cst in hoc rcgno authoritas, ne~

quaquam se recepturos, siquc per nostros e concilio allataforent,

nisi ilia a Jlnitimis quoque nobis populis recepta essent." The

same letter states the danger of the church in Poland ; "Nostris

cervidbus

218 SKETCH OF THE

Under the reign of Sigismund Augustus, when

the influence of Protestantism became powerfulin Poland, very many entertained the fond but

delusive hope that it would be possible to

reform the Roman Catholic church, instead of

separating from it. It was this opinion which

directed, at the diet of 1552, the choice of the

deputies to be sent to the council of Trent.

They were John Drohojowski, bishop of Vladi

slav, and James Uchanski, bishop of Chelm, two

prelates whose Protestant opinions were well

known Stanislas Tenczynski ,castellan of Leopoland Modrzewski, was to be the secretary of the

legation, and direct all its operations.* It was

cervicibus gravissima pericula impendere videntur : iollanturJidei

et religionis dissidia, a quibus nostra provincia non esse prorsus

immunis videtur, quod si scire posset sanctitas vestra, quis est

nunc rerum nostrarum status, quantum nobis propter vicinum

malum metuendum sit." The fear seemed to make the synod

forgetful of the infallibility of the Pope :"

Neque enim inso-

litum, gubernatores in magnibus tempestatibus a vectoribus admo-

neri." Letter of the archbishop of Gnezno in the name of the

synod of Lowicz, 1547, to Pope Paul the Hid., Hosii Opera.

Raynaldus, ad an. 1547, f. 85.

* At the synod of Piotrkow in 1557, the 17th May, Droho

jowski and Uchanski " monitifuerunt a sede apostolicd de suspec-

tis in ecclesia dogmatibus. (Vide Starowolski, Epitome Concilior.)

Both those bishops were suspected of leaning to the doctrines

of Calvin. (Uchanski.) "Tanta odiorum mole gravatus a sui ordi-

nis hominibus propter ipsius pietatem raramquc libertatem qua

in comitiis suis utitur, id sublatum cupiutit, vencnoquc tollendum

judicent, nc quid ampliua dicam," says Utenhovius, a contem

porary


on that occasion that Modrzewski explained to

the king the necessity of reforming the church,and the extent to which such a reformation

should be carried. His proposals were of the most

decisive nature, and could not be adoptedwithout entirely destroying the whole structure

of the Roman Catholic church. As they representthe opinion of many of the most enlightened

persons of that time in Poland, we shall give our

readers a summary exposition of them :

"

Religion is no longer secretly discussed, as it

formerly was, but publicly debated in the na

tional assemblies," says Modrzewski, addressingthe monarch. " We are now generally abandon

ing the doctrines of the church, which had

hitherto been received, and we have assumed the

right of establishing a religion. You resignto a general council the cognizance of such an

important matter. Inspired by heaven, you have

desisted from making use of your own authorityand arbitrary power. The council must give to

every one full liberty of speech, for we wish to be

instructed and enlightened. We shall not permitour convictions to be silenced by human autho

rity. Men ought to be convinced by the word

porary writer, apud Tricesii de Evangelii origine in Polonia.

The Pope wrote to the king of Poland in 1556 about Uchanski,

describing him as "maxima htsresis injamia laborantcm." Such

were the delegates whom the Polish diet had chosen for the

Council of Trent.

220 SKETCH OF THE

of God, and by argument, but not by persecution

and bloodshed. What has created the dissentions

in the church ? The corruption of manners and

discipline ; neglect of the laws;the perversion

of the doctrines and of the ceremonies. The

ancient and real Christians have disappeared, as

well as the primitive purity and sanctity of the

church. The first preachers of the Gospel were

not numerous; they were poor, not endowed with

large estates, and being presecuted they converted

the world. Now there is none who will preserve

the truth of the doctrine and of the ceremonies

established by Jesus Christ and the Apostles,

and the consequence of that is a general and

extreme corruption. Those who have possessed

themselves of the lucrative dignities of the

church have engaged in unworthy occupations.

They have become fond of merry revels;of rich

dresses, precious stones, and large retinues.

All their time is devoted to play and hunting.

They have become enamoured of comfort, ease,

and luxury. What is now the intellectual au

thority of the clergy ? The greatest part of them

are ignorant of the scriptures ;some are given

up to atheism; they deride every thing that is

holy. They have ceased to believe in religion ;

they have rejected doctrines, and neglected ac

tions prescribed by God. They have appropriated

to themselves villages, towns, castles, tithes,

enormous incomes, and richly endowed states.


They have founded their supremacy upon money,

upon worldly connexions and assistance, and

upon a luxurious life. They wish to rule only

by force; and in order to maintain their authority,

they have elevated their church, contrary to the

precepts of Christ. They have appropriated to

themselves exclusively the name of the church,

and imposed on the people of God their laws and

restrictions. But no religious community can be

durable and maintain its unity, if its doctrines

and actions are not founded on the pure wordof God. It is therefore necessary that the lay

men should be also admitted to the discussion

about the principle of faith, because, as Gerson

says : The council is the assembly of all the

states of the church, and excludes none whobelieve. Theprinciple of faith must be decided

by all, in order that they should know what

is to be believed. Is it not a duty of the com

munity to investigate whether its pastor expoundsa falsified doctrine, and to avoid false prophets,and the perversity of the Pharisees ?

" The general council will restore peace to

Christendom, but it must be independent and

properly composed. It will abolish the pro

fligacy of the clergy, and the abuses of the

popular authority. On the synod every manand every party must have an uncontrolled

liberty of speech, even against existing order

and established customs, because the church

222 SKETCH OF THE

never has been and is not now infallible. Beinga human assembly, it could err, it has erred, and

it may still err.

" The bishops should convoke the clergy and

the population of their dioceses. They must not

restrict by any ancient laws the deliberations

of the Christian people. Every member of the

church must expose his conviction. Faith, beingcommon to all the members of the church, must

be determined by them all, or by an assembly of

all the faithful. The church itself should statute

the rules of belief. The general council must

learn from the synods of the dioceses the con

victions of the Christians, and according to that it

must form its decisions. The population of the

dioceses ought to choose their delegates for the

deliberations of the general council;

such a

council alone will truly and legally represent the

universal Christian church. Christians of every

denomination must be without any difference

represented at that council. The Armenians,

Greeks, and other sects, are they not also Chris

tians ? The Latin church alone is not a complete

church, and it will not restore by itself unity to

Christendom, when all its sections are not duly

represented." The general council should not be composed

exclusively of bishops. Why should the laymen,who form a part of the church, be prohibited

from judging matters relating to their own sal-


vation ? A bishop does not possess the neces

sary qualification for defining the doctrines bythe mere fact of his being a bishop. The onlytitles which give authority to decide on that

important matter are learning and virtue. Thedirection of the council must be entrusted to

virtuous and learned men, and not to such as

have nothing to recommend them but office.

" It is not true that the bishops alone have the

power of expounding the Gospel. All those whohave retained only the name and the income of a

bishop, without possessing his moral qualifications,

should retire from the council. It is impossibleto renew the ancient custom of setting up fire

and sword against truth and conscience. Formerlythe nations were kept in subjection by the

bishops, and obeyed all their commands. Theywere insulted without daring to complain, and

even addressed thanks for the injuries they had

received. It is therefore just and right to eject

from the church the pride and despotism of its

rulers. The government of the church must be

entrusted neither to one nor to all, but to the

most learned and virtuous, even if they were not

invested with the sacerdotal dignity. Everychurch and its people will send their representatives to the council, because the people have also

theirjust griefs against the clergy and against their

rulers. It is indeed a very preposterous regula

tion, which deprives of influence and office even

224 SKETCH OF THE

the most enlightened men, if they do not belong to

the class of the nobles ;all members of the com

munity should have equal rights. All the rulers

of the church have been infected by an unpar

donable pride and luxury. The people have

been despised, and the poor entirely neglected ;

although only a madman could suppose that God

has created mankind for the use of its rulers.

The council will choose the judges who are to

determine a universal creed;

no difference of

religious opinion must exclude from that mission,

because the reformers and antagonists of Romeare also Christians. If the Pope was infallible,

and superior to the council and to all the

churches of Christendom, of what use would it

be to convoke a council? It is well knownthat they have erred against faith

;and Pope

Adrian himself acknowledged, in 1522, that the

church and its dignitaries were in the utmost

state of corruption. How can a guilty clergy,

being accused, decide against themselves, abolish

their own profitable usurpation, and destroy their

own authority?

"The renovation of the church must be entrusted

to the church itself, i. e. to all Christendom, to

all believers. How did the church till now an

swer to all the pious complaints against its cor

ruption ? By persecution and cruelties. Themind cannot be changed but by argument, because

religion is but a spirit.


^

"The present mode of administering the church

must be changed. One person should not pos

sess several dignities, which ought to be granted

only to virtue and ability. The church must not

feed idlers with its riches. One clergyman is suffi

cient for one church. The rule over the peoplemust be entrusted to intellectual superiority, and

not to that of birth or fortune. The kingdom of

Christ must be supported by the same means bywhich it was raised. The disciples of our Sa

viour, without being either rich or noble, have

converted mankind. In our country, the nobles

invested with the dignities of the church enjoy

their possessions, but have no learning. Theyconsider it a mean occupation to devote them

selves to intellectual pursuits, and have left to

their inferiors the duty of teaching. They occupythe first places, and govern, although birth without

merit is nothing. But if the nobles have appro

priated to themselves the dignities and the riches

of the church, they ought also to fulfil the duties,

to teach, to prophetize, and to tend the flock of

Christ;but they have accepted only the enjoy

ments, and they have rejected the duties. Such

abuses are highly injurious to religion as well as

to the state. The people, contemned and degraded,lose the sense of their own dignity ;

the ruling-

class, being corrupted, attach little value to the

fulfilment of the duties of a Christian magistrate.

We try by oaths and documents the test of nobility,

VOL. 1. Q

226 SKETCH OF THE

which is an innovation unknown to our ances

tors,* and we do not even ask about virtue

and learning. This leads to pride and luxury,

which degrade the sanctity of religion ;it is

therefore necessary to introduce another system.

Those who are adorned by virtues are real nobles,

if even they were of the meanest origin ; they are

fit to possess all the dignities of the nobles,

because they have all that constitutes a real

nobility ;but now, when all the cathedrals of the

church are exclusively occupied by nobles, it is

even dangerous to propose that the dignities of

the church should be granted without any regard

to birth. The exclusion of the lower classes from

preferment is indeed the greatest abuse and in

justice.

"A bishop should be elected by all the faithful

of the diocese in the following manner : Every

class, the magistrates, the nobles, the burghers,

and the peasants (for it is unjust to exclude the

peasants from a share in the public affairs), should

choose each three representatives ;the clergy will

also send twelve of its members. These twenty-

four delegates will take an oath before the deputyof the monarch, that they will elect only such as

are qualified by their virtues, learning, and sanc-

* This alludes to the preposterous enactment of 1515, which

excluded all those who did not belong to noble families from

preferment to the higher dignities of the church.


tity of life, and that their choice will not be influ

enced by any worldly motives;and they must

act accordingly. All the clergy should be equalized, because the superiority of the bishops wasestablished only by custom, and not by Jesus

Christ, who did not grant priority to any of the

apostles. Such a system will restore to the church

its purity and independence, and will pacify its

troubles. In order to restore peace to the church,and establish a unity of faith and disciplineover all Christendom, it is not sufficient to write

sentences, to promulgate decrees, to judge and

excommunicate. The church and the Christian

people do not exist for the use of the king and of

the bishops ;on the contrary, the kings were esta

blished for the benefit of the people, and the

bishops for that of the church. The kings must

therefore watch over the advantages of the chil

dren of God, but they must leave to the church

itself the election of the bishops, whom they

actually nominate themselves,* because no autho

rity has the right despotically to rule the church." The dignity ofthe Pope, which maintains the

unity of the church, ought to be retained;but the

mode of his election should be totally changed,because otherwise despotism and an unbridled

passion of power will never be expelled from the

* We have already stated, in the first part of this work,

that the kings of Poland nominated the bishops.

Q 2

228 SKETCH OF THE

church. The Pope must not be elected either

by one nation, or by one church, or by one sec

tion of the Christian community, as it is nowdone: the Pope, being the chief of all Chris

tians, must be elected by all Christendom ; every

nation must have an equal right and equal influ

ence in his election. A hierarchy is necessary,

in order to maintain a unity amongst all the

members of the church of Christ; but not a hierar

chy of superiority. Each clergyman possessing

an equal mission to teach, to baptize, to perform

sacrifice, to bind and to unbind, there is no dif

ference in that respect between the most inferior

clergyman and the Pope himself. Such a hierar

chy has not been authorized by Christ, it has not

been ordered by the Gospels, it has not been

established by the primitive church ;it would

therefore perhaps be more expedient to abolish

episcopacy, and that the Pope should preside

over the rulers of the churches." The Pope should retain only such attributes of

his authority as are useful and indispensable for the

benefit of the church : he should execute the laws,

and watch over the maintenance of discipline ;

but he must not have judicial authority over the

churches. Each nation should have its own inde

pendent church, and its own independent and final

j urisdiction, that they may not appeal to Rome. The

Pope cannot be infallible, and must be subject

to the council, which truly represents the whole of


Christendom. The Pope must have nothing to

do with the political relations of different states.

The Papal see being the centre of the Christian

unity, may be established any where. The Popewill be elected only for a year, and never for his

life-time. A frequent change of Popes will not

destroy the unity of the Papacy. If the Popewould resume the ancient abuses, he will be

checked by the council, which is to assemble

every two years. Each province of a synod will

nominate two persons, who will by turns occupythe Papal see. Every Pope will be judged after

the termination of his office by his successor, whowill strictly investigate his conduct, and punishhim if he is found guilty. The council will

nominate the Pope s ministers, who cannot be

dismissed by him. Papacy circumscribed within

such limits, will fulfil its mission much better

than it does now.*"

Every separate church should have its pro

phets, evangelists, pastors, and presbyters ;but

the office of teaching is not to be exclusively

vested in the presbyters.

"Every one may speak, prophetize, and in

vestigate divine subjects, when he feels that he

has an interior vocation to do it. Every church

should choose its own government and autho-

* Modrzewski was excommunicated particularly on account

of his proposition to submit the Pope to the council, and the

council to the whole of Christendom.

230 SKETCH OF THE

rities. If the congregation was able to elect the

best qualified, the present condition of the church

would be much improved by it; places destined

to teachers and apostles would not be then given

to nobles, who occupy now every dignity, whether

they be able or not to fulfil its duties, provided

they have a coat of arms. The duty of the

evangelist should be to preach, to instruct, and to

expound the Gospels ;that of the pastors should

be to administer sacraments, to watch over the

morals of the congregation, and to inflict spiritual

penalties on those who lead a vicious life. The

actual pastors have forgotten their real duties;

they are fit only to shear the wool of their flock,

but not to watch over its welfare. The dignity

of the bishop, which was formerly equal to that of

the presbyter, has now changed its primitive

destination, and perverted its real duties. The

bishops have thrown on the parish priests all the

burdens of their vocation, and retained only the

riches and honours attached to it : they enjoy the

possession of villages and towns, of small and

great tithes ; they only occupy prominent places

in the councils of the state, but the care of souls,

and that of religious instruction, they consider a

subject of minor importance, leaving them to

some inferior and insignificant persons. The

scriptures must be the only rule of faith, because

they are sure and true, unerring and unable

to err, comprehending the chief and indispensable


principles of salvation. The word of God must

be placed above the church, and above all au

thority that has been created. That which cannot

be conceived by human reason, must, however,be believed. Tradition being a human explication,

cannot be binding : the church could not finally

decide how the holy writ should be understood

and explained. The scriptures should be ex

plained by the scriptures themselves;the places

whose meaning is uncertain should be explained

by such passages the sense of which is clear and

certain. The church being founded on the scrip

tures, cannot develop or modify its own origin by

introducing things which have not been autho

rized by Jesus Christ, and were unknown to the

first disciples. The church preserves only the

word of God, but has no right to its arbitrary

explication. Augustinus himself acknowledgedthat the Gospel alone was infallible, and he

founded on it his arguments. He acknowledgedthe authority of the synods and Fathers, but he

placed them below the precepts of Jesus Christ

himself.

" The discussion about the real meaning of the

Eucharist is unnecessary, and more fit to disturb

than to edify the church of God. It is much

better to believe the words of God, which express

that wre receive his body and blood, than to

begin subtile researches about the nature of

receiving them : it is rather necessary to avoid

232 SKETCH OF THE

such questions, as being unfit to give any comfort

or hope to the troubled spirit. It is quite

sufficient for our salvation to believe that we are

receiving the body and blood of our Saviour with

the lips of the spirit, and not with those of the

body. The communion of two kinds should be

administered to all Christian people. The auri

cular confession which is established by the

Roman church is not injurious ;but it is very

doubtful whether it may be considered as a

sacrament, and as a condition necessary for our

salvation, and therefore it ought not to be made

obligatory. Confession serves to give a better

knowledge of religion to those who are igno

rant;

it enlightens the consciences of men, and

strengthens the discipline of the church. The

worship of the saints should be limited. Eminent

persons deserve respect during their life-time, and

a pious remembrance after their death;but can

the mediation of saints be of any use? But,

although neither the Old or the New Testament

have even recommended the worship of saints,

as mediators between man and God, no person s

liberty in that respect should be circumscribed.

The baptism of infants is allowable, and the

promise of their godfathers is necessary ;but the

baptized children must, on becoming adults,

confirm their baptism by taking a solemn obli

gation of respecting and following the precepts

oi the Gospel. Matrimony should be allowed


to the priests, and the worship should be per

formed in the national language."

Such were the principal ideas about the reform

of the church which Modrzewski proposed to the

king, and which represent the opinions enter

tained on that important subject by manyenlightened persons in Poland.* The admi

nistration of the church which he proposed to

introduce was evidently modelled after the political institutions of Poland, where the greatest

part of public offices were elective.

The chief objection to his plan was its utter

impracticability, and it could be no more ap

plied to the spiritual government of Chris

tendom, than the Utopia of Sir Thomas Morecould be adapted to its political affairs. There

is also a chilling spirit of indifference, in dis

cussing some important matters, incompatiblewith that energy of action indispensable to the

introduction of important reforms either in

church or state;an energy which is derived only

from an intimate conviction of the principles we

* Ea pro ijigenii meo facilitate, multorum consiliis in suf-

fragium adhibitis ostendi." says Modrzewski. The RomanCatholic clergy strongly dissuaded the publication of those

ideas :" non nulli vcrentur ne operis nostri editione aliquid

rcligioni vulnus infligcretur ; nihil novi nos unquam molitos ne

quidquam in re Christiana definire volttiste, sed ca proposuisse

qua; in divinis scripturis el apud probatissimos scriplores

Itgereniur."

234 SKETCH OF THE

are advocating, but which may be possessed only

by a true believer, and will never be the lot of

those philosophical dabblers in religion and

politics, who are generally as timid in action as

they are bold in speculation. The work of Mo-

drzewski is, however, very precious, on account

of its giving a fair idea of the opinions which

prevailed in the council of Sigismund Augustus,

and in the mind of that monarch. It is perhaps

by these vacillating opinions on religious matters

that the conduct of Sigismund Augustus may be

explained, and why that monarch, although evi

dently leaning to the Protestant doctrines, had not

openly abandoned the Roman Catholic church.

These principles which we have now developed,

however impracticable, would have certainly pro

duced an extraordinary sensation on the council

of Trent, being presented by a deputation osten

sibly Roman Catholic. The intended legation did

not, however, take place, as the treaty of Passau

in 1552, and soon afterwards the abdication of

Charles the Fifth, suspended for some time the

operations of the above-mentioned council.

The dangers which threatened the Roman Ca

tholic church in Poland meanwhile grew everyday

more pressing. The Protestant synod of Kozmin

of 1555 effected a union between the Bohemian

Brethren and the Genevese church of Poland, bywhich a considerable strength was added to the

Protestant party. The Roman Catholic church,


having no longer the right of punishing heretics,

felt its weakness, and was not adverse to a

national synod, which would introduce consi

derable reforms into the church, provided it

would preserve its fundamental doctrines and

hierarchy.* The king, instead of giving anymaterial assistance to the Roman clergy, advised

them to defend their cause by argument, notby

force.f Francis Krasinski, who, in spite of havingbeen a pupil of Melancthon, possessed the dignityof the archdeacon of Calish, and who afterwards,

when bishop of Cracow, excited a strong sus

picion of heresy, made some representations

* Protestant opinions, or at least the necessity of a reform,

seem to have been working in the minds of many bishops at

that time. " Omnimodo anni tercntur episcopos senatu movere, qui

jam conversations scecularium alliati, graviter in religione nutare

cceperunt hercticis, connibant ct connivebant, et nonnulli prorsus

jam ad Lutheranismum discederunt perniciosis eorum dogmatibus

pertracti ;" 1555, Janocki. Stanislaus Karnkowski, who became

afterwards archbishop of Gnezno, expounded,, in 1550, when

bishop of Cujavia, to his brother, to Modrzewski, and several

other friends, the letter of St. Paul to the Galatians in a-manner

contrary to the Roman Catholic dogma :" Mirabar novum

dogma de Christo et hominum credentium in ipso justification ;"

apud Wengierski.

f The king addressed Hosius in the following words :" Hcec

ratio plurimum probatur, prius ut homines doceuntur, quamaliquid in cos durius consulatur. Et vellem ut ferre (sic)

synodus provincialis, ad quern vocarentur etiam sectarii." Hosii

Epistolae, 73.

236 SKETCH OF THE

to that effect in 1555-6, which were couched in

language of a rather doubtful orthodoxy. Dzierz-

gowski, archbishop of Gnezno, wished also to

convoke a national independent synod, in order

to pacify the religious dissensions in Poland. It

is impossible positively to assert whether the

Roman Catholic clergy of Poland had any true

intentions of introducing into the doctrine and

discipline of their church some real reforms, and

whether they intended to grant a hearing to the

demands of their antagonists ;there are, however,

some good reasons for supposing that the above-

mentioned intentions were entertained, at least bya part of the clergy, as the project of such a

synod awakened the fears of the Roman see and

of some of its most zealous adherents.*

There were indeed good reasons for the Popeto oppose a similar measure, because the convo

cation of a purely Roman Catholic synod would

have been of no use whatever in arresting the

progress of the Reformation, whilst a synod, to

the deliberations of which the Protestants were

admitted, would undoubtedly lead to the over

throw of Romanism in Poland. It was therefore

natural and consequent that Rome refused to

grant its assent to the convocation of a national

* Hosius declared that he would never join the intended

synod, knowing that heretics would be admitted at its delibe

rations.


Polish synod, promising to settle the affairs of

the Polish church at a general council. Indeed,

the wisest policy that Romanism could then

adopt in Poland was to remain in a state of

immobility, because an attempt at amending the

corrupted state of its church would lead to the

total dissolution of its rotten frame, whilst the

Protestant party, full of vigour and energy, natu

rally burned to come into collision with its su

perannuated antagonist.

The Diet of 1552 had expressed a wish to see

the differences which had arisen between the

established church and a great part of the nation

settled by the convocation of a national synod.The violent discussions which occupied the Diet

on the subject of the ecclesiastical jurisdiction

postponed for some time that important question,

which was again revived at the Diet of Piotrkow

in 1555. The chamber of nuncios, or house of

commons, represented to the king the necessityof convoking a national synod, composed of all

religious parties, which, being presided over by the

king himself, should reform the church by adopt

ing the Holy Scriptures as the only basis of that

reform. Not only were the representatives of

all the religious sects of Poland to be admitted to

the deliberations of that synod, on equal terms

with the Roman Catholic clergy, but it was even

proposed to invite the most eminent reformers of

Europe, such as Calvin, Beza, Melancthon, and

238 SKETCH OF THE

Vergerius, who was at that time in Poland.*

But the greatest hopes for introducing a reforma

tion of the established church were placed on

John Laski, or Alasco. As this eminent indivi

dual has taken such a prominent part in advanc

ing the great work of reformation in this country

as well as in his own, we shall devote the follow

ing chapter to a sketch of his life and labours.

CHAPTER V.

SKETCH OF THE LIFE AND LABOURS OF JOHN LASKI

OR ALASCO.

Birth and Pa-THE family of Laski ranks among the noblest

in Poland, and is remarkable for having produced

during the sixteenth century many eminent indivi

duals, who have rendered their names illustrious

in the church, in the council, and in the camp.

John Laski, archbishop of Gnezno, primate of the

realm and legate of the Roman see, distinguished

himself as grand chancellor of Poland, in having

been the first who collected all the laws of that

* Vide Wengierski, Friese s Beytrage zur Reformations

Geschichte in Polen, vol. ii.


country. His collection, published in 150G, wasconfirmed by the king and the Diet, and it is well

known under the name of the Statutes of Laski.*

Having been sent by Sigismund the First to the

council of Lateran in 1513, he obtained from PopeLeo the Tenth, for himselfand his successors, the

archbishops of Gnezno, the title and privileges of

Legati nati apostolicce sedis. Although himself

not a learned man, he was a great patron and

promoter of learning. He made himself conspicuous also by being chiefly instrumental in the

enactment of that preposterous law by which the

non-nobles were excluded from preferment to the

higher dignities of the church. Laski was much

opposed to the nascent reformation, against which

he proclaimed many decrees. His Roman Catholic orthodoxy did not, however, prevent himfrom zealously assisting the cause of John Za-

polya, king of Hungary, against Ferdinand of

Austria. The cause of Zapolya was eagerly promoted by Jaroslaf, or Hieroslaus Laski, nephewof the archbishop, who was an avowed Protestant.

The archbishop furnished his nephew with moneyand other necessary means for promoting his de

signs against the Austrians, and it was he whoadvised him to seek the assistance of Soliman

the Great, emperor ofTurkey, against that power.

*Its title is : Commune Polonice Regni Privilegium, Con-

stiiutionum, ct Indaltuum, 1506; Cracow, in folio.

240 SKETCH OF THE

Ferdinand of Austria complained to Pope Cle

ment the Seventh of the intrigues of the arch

bishop, and presented proofs of his having advised

to call in the Turks against Austria. The Pope

excommunicated the archbishop, calling him in

his bull an arch-devil ;but Laski contrived by

some means to set aside that bull, and remained

in undisturbed possession of his dignity until his

death, 19th May 1531.* Jaroslaf Laski, nephew

to the archbishop, palatine of Sieradz, was cer

tainly one of the most remarkable men of the

sixteenth century, by his great talents, by his

relations with the most eminent individuals of

his time, and by the prominent part which he

took in several great events. After the death of

Lewis Jaguellon, king of Hungary, killed at the

battle of Mohac in 1525, the national party elect

ed monarch John Zapolya, wojewode of Transyl

vania ;who was, however, unable to maintain

his ground against Ferdinand of Austria, elected

by an opposite party, and supported by all the

power of his brother, the emperor Charles V.

Zapolya was obliged to retire to Poland, where

king Sigismund the First granted him a free

asylum, but no assistance against his enemy. It

* We have extracted these details from Friese s Beytrage

zur Reformations Geschichte in Polen, vol. ii. page 274, who

gives them on the authority of Peter Toniecki s, (bishop of

Cracow,) Epistola tome viii., and the Ada literaria Regni

Polonice, 1535, tome ii. pages 17, 18.


was there that Jaroslaf Laski proposed to Zapolyathe daring project, which, as we have already said,

had been suggested by his uncle, to arm Soliman

against the Germans, and to defend the liberties

of Hungary with the swords of the Mussulmans.It is supposed that king Sigismund the First, whocould not be favourable to the extension of the

Austrian power, which was enslaving Hungaryand Bohemia, so recently possessed by his family,

secretly countenanced that project. Zapolya gaveunlimited powers to Laski, and promised himthe sovereignty of Transylvania. Laski arrived at

Constantinople on the 20th December 1527, andhis negociations were so successful, that twomonths afterwards, on the 20th February 1528,a treaty of alliance against Austria was signed,and soon afterwards the forces of the Ottoman

empire were in full march to open a campaign,which is particularly memorable on account of

the siege of Vienna, and the expulsion of the

Austrians from Hungary.*

The fortunes of that celebrated individual are no longerconnected with those of his brother John, who is the subject of

our present chapter, since the nomination of the latter to the

bishopric of Wesprin ; we shall, therefore, only briefly mention

the most important circumstances of his eventful life. After the

establishment of Zapolya on the throne of Hungary, Laski

naturally enjoyed the high favour of that monarch, and wasentrusted with the most important offices. He acted as his

ambassador at Cracow in 1530, in France in 1531, and at the

VOL. I. R Germanic

242 SKETCH OF THE

The high hopes of elevation which the family

of Laski had conceived at that time were frus

trated by subsequent events ;but Jaroslav, who

Germanic Diet in 1532. Zapolya, however, forgot what he owed

to Laski, or perhaps he could not bear to owe him so much.

Laski was accused of dangerous machinations, and arrested,

although treated with every consideration due to his high rank

in the castle where he was confined. The Polish senate

remonstrated against the violence offered to one of its members

in the person of Laski. Francis the First of France wrote

also to Zapolya in his favour. Laski was at last released,

chiefly by the efforts of John Tarnowski (vide note of page

168) and Andreas Tenczynski, castellan of Cracow; his

innocence was solemnly proclaimed by royal letters-patent, and

he received as an indemnity (or rather a mortgage for the sums

he had expended for the service of Zapolya) the towns of

Kesmark and Debreczyn. This transaction is described in a

letter of Peter Tomicki, bishop of Cracow, addressed to Eras

mus April 20, 1535. The haughty mind of Laski would not,

however, be reconciled with a justice reluctantly wrung from a

monarch who owed to him the throne : he left the service of

Zapolya, and giving way to his resentment, he resolved to undo

his own work by depriving Zapolya of the Hungarian crown.

He repaired, therefore, to his antagonist Ferdinand of Austria,

who received with open arms such a valuable ally as Laski.

In 1540, when Ferdinand was assembling an army for recon

quering Hungary, Laski went as his ambassador to Constanti

nople, in order to prevent Solyman from giving assistance to

Zapolya. Laski s appearance at the Ottoman court in a

capacity diametrically opposed to that in which he had acted

twelve years ago, excited the anger and suspicion of the Sultan,

who ordered him to be imprisoned. His life was even for some

time in danger : but he succeeded in disarming the Sultan s

anger, and received presents as a mark of the monarch s favour.

This


was at that time most influential in Hungary,provided for his brother John Laski, the subjectof our present notice, in 1529, the bishopric of

This was the last event of Laski s agitated career. He fell

dangerously ill at Constantinople, and having returned to his native land in 1542, he died from the effects of this illness, whichwas strongly suspected to have originated from poison. Jaros-

lav Laski was certainly one of the most accomplished noblemenof his time, and equally skilled in all that related to war and

politics, his talents and acquirements having been improved byextensive travels. Paul Jovius gives the following judgmentof him :

tl

Ingcnium smim in omni actione rerum humanarumvalde mirificum, excelso solcrtique iiigenio, gramssimarum rerumconsilia agitare, atque apte terminare, solitus, belli pacisqueartibus abundc instructus, noverat regum omnium ingenia,

Moresque gentium quum totum pene tcrrarum orbem regiasquc

percurrissct: (P. Jovius Historiarum Lutetian, 1558.) Erasmus,who extolled him with great praises, dedicated to him his little

work," Modus orandi Deum." Melancthon wrote a work on

Laski with which we are not acquainted, but which must have

been favourable to him, considering the great regard whichMelancthon entertained for his brother, John Laski, the

reformer. Andreas Modrzewski introduced Jaroslav Laski as an

interlocutor in his dialogue" De Homicidiis

puniendis." Laski

has left a narrative of his embassy to Constantinople in 1527.

Stanislav Laski, brother to Jaroslav and John, rendered

himself conspicuous by his long residence at the court of

France, where he gained the favour of king Francis the First,

who created him cques auratus. He accompanied that monarchto the battle of Pavia, and shared with him the misfortunes of

captivity. This occurrence is described in a work entitled" De Gallo ad Ticinum capto ad S. A. Lasco," which is

mentioned by Janocki. Stanislav Laski returned afterwards to

his own country, where he was successively invested with the

R 2 first

244 SKETCH OF THE

Vesprin. Laski was at that time thirty years old,

being born in 1499. Having been destined from his

boyhood to the ecclesiastical state, he received

the best education which it was possible for his

country to afford. He afterwards visited Ger

many, Italy, France, and Belgium, and became

acquainted with many eminent scholars of that

time. In 1524 he was introduced in Switzer

land to Zuinglius, who sowed the first doubt in

his mind about the orthodoxy of the Romanchurch. He spent the year 1525 with Erasmus,

first dignities of the state. Albert Laski, son of Jaroslav, and

nephew of the reformer, who was palatine of Sieradz, and

afterwards that of Sendomir, chiefly contributed to the election

of Henri of Valois(the third of France

)to the throne of

Poland, and was one of the delegates who went to France in

order announce to the new monarch his elevation to the

sovereignty of Poland. After the deposition of Henry., who

having become king of France after the death of his brother

Charles the Ninth, had secretly left Poland., Albert Laski voted

for Maximilian of Austria. In 1583 he visited England, where

queen Elizabeth received him with great distinction. The

honours which were shown to him during his visit at Oxford,

by the especial command of the queen, were equal to those

rendered to sovereign princes ; (vide Wood s History and

Antiquities of Oxford, English translation, vol. ii. page 215-

218). Having become a Roman Catholic about 1569, he

promoted the schemes of Cardinal Commendoni, who was sent

by the Pope to counteract in Poland the Protestant party. (Vide" Vie de Commandoni par Gratiani.")

His extraordinary prodi

gality rendered his enormous wealth insufficient to defray his

expenses, he therefore became a zealous adept in alchemy, and he

took from England to Poland, with him, two known alchymists.


in whose house he lived, and with whom he was

on the most intimate terms of friendship. The

regard which Erasmus entertained for Laski bor- Laski connexion with

dered on enthusiasm.* Laski was fully alive to

* Erasmus speaks of Laski, in his letters, in the followingmanner :

" Hie Joannes a Lasco, Polonus illustri loco natus, apudsuos brevique summusfuturus, moribus est plane niveis, nikil ma-

gis aureum ac gemmeum cssepotest" (Epist. ad B. Egnatio, 5th

October 1525.)"

Senex, juvenis convictufactus sum mclior, ac

sobrietatem, tcmperantiam, verccundiam, lingual moderationem,

modestiam, pudicitiam, integritatem, quam juvenis a scne discere

dcbucrat, ajuvene senex didici." (Epist. to J. Laski, archbishop

of Gnezno, August 1527.) Ego vcro mi Joannes, nimis impu-

dcnsfuero, sijuvencm summis natum rebus, etjam mine nullo non

doctrince genere me superiorem, patior credi me discipulum : sed

tamen homo sim insigniter ingratus, si tarn amantcm, tarn constan-

tem, tarn candidum patronum, patior oblivionis tcnebris oblitcrari."

(Epist. ad J. Laski, 16th June 1527.)" Joannis a Lasco tale

sum cxpcrtus ingenium, quotidicque cxperior, ut vel hoc uno amico

videarsat bcatus" (Epist. ad Leonardum Coxum Anglum, June

12th, 1527.) This Leonard Cox, an Englishman born, was

professor of eloquence at the University of Cracow, and is parti

cularly remarkable for having been the first who established in

Poland a literary periodical, which he published under the

title of Ephemeridce. The generosity with which Laski con

tributed to the house-keeping of Erasmus is acknowledged byhim in the following words, contained in a letter which he

addressed to Laski in March 1526 :" Si tibi felicitcr ccepit

tua demigralio, clarissime comes, cst profecto, cur levius doleam.

Mihi sane twis abitus9 multis nominibus fuit infelix : ut

cnim reliqua taceam, mensibus aliquot mihi sudandum erat, ut

domum hanc, tua magnificcntia corruptum yad pristinam fru-

galitalcm revocarem. Dcinde totum pene autumnum et hycmem,

cum calculo mihi fuit colluctandum. His quasi parum es.set,

tantum

246 SKETCH OF THE

the friendship of Erasmus, which he repaid byhis esteem, and by administering to his wants

with all the liberality of a Polish grandee of that

tantum molestiarum aliunde accessit, ut facile scnserim, gcnium

meum bonmn abesse* $c. Vide also Jortin s Life of Erasmus,

vol. i. page 379. Although Laski, during his residence with

Erasmus, was only twenty-six years old, he was already favour

ably known to the most eminent persons of Europe, as is

evident from the letter of Erasmus addressed to Margaretta

queen of Navarre, sister to Francis the First of France, on occasion

of the defeat and capture of her royal brother, at the battle of

Pavia. He speaks in that letter ofthose which that queen address

ed to John Laski, who was then living at his house. After

having enumerated several reasons for expecting a more favour

able turn of affairs, he says :"

Coitfirmarunt hanc spem meam

literce celsitudinis tuce, quas ad illustrem Polonicu Baronem Joan-

nem a Lasco miseras in Hispaniam adornans prqfectionem. Namis enim in meis csdibus vivit, qui cum mihi jure amiciticB omnia.

Declarabant enim te non solum itrfracto animo fatorum ini-

quitatem, verum ctiam verbis quibnsdam bene ominantibus

recreabant solicitudinem nostram." ( Epist. ad Margaritam

Reginam Navarrae, pridie Michaelis 1525.) The tenor of the

queen s letters, to which Erasmus alludes, shows the great

regard which she entertained for Laski, to whom she seems to

have expressed the feelings which actuated her mind on that

trying occasion. It is very likely that Laski s acquaintance

with the queen of Navarre was commenced by the instrumen

tality of his brother Stanislav, who, as we have already men

tioned in the note of page 243, was in great favour with her

brother. Laski offered afterwards a hundred pieces of gold to

Frobenius and Episcopius, in order to assist them in publish

ing the works of Erasmus. Vide Jortin s Life of Erasmus,

vol. i. page 577.


time. He purchased the library of Erasmus, but

left to him its use during his life-time.*

It was from Erasmus that Laski has probably

derived that great mildness and suavity by which

all his proceedings, notwithstanding their strength

of purpose, were characterized. Laski returned

to his native land in 1526, with a strong bias for

* The price which Laski gave Erasmus for his library was

three hundred golden crowns, half of which sum was paid at the

signature of the contract, and the other after Erasmus s

death. The contract of the sale is couched in the fol

lowing terms :* Erasmus Rotcrodamus bibliothccam meam

universam vcndidi clarissimo PolojiifS Baroni Joanni a Lasco

trecentis coronatis aurcis, hac Icge, ut quoad vixero, usus

librorum, ex amicitice jure, sit illi mecum communis, pro-

prictas solum penes ilium sit perpetua ; quod jus transibit

cliam in illius hceredcs, si, quod Deus avertat, contingat

ilium prius ex humanis dccedere. Interim indicem librorum, ve-

lui arrobonem traditionis habet. Quidquid interim accreverit,

et hoc illius erit, nisi si quos codices manuscriptos magno conti-

gerit cmere* In his, ex utriusque consensu^Jtat moderatio novi

contractus, duntaxat quod attinebit ad illam accessionem. In

cujus rei fidem dictus Erasmus hoc chirographum mea manu

dcscripsi, affixo peculiari annuli me.i signo termino. anno 1525,

duodecimo calendas Julius. Dimidium prctii numeratum cst

Basilice 1525, alterum prctii dimidium postridie Martii, an. 1535

persolutum cst. Bonifacius Amcrbachius nuncupatus incom-

parabilis D. Erasmi Hotcrodami hcercs mea manu attestor, et ego

Joannes a Lasco prcedicta manu mea subscriptione fatcor esse

verum." (Vide Jorton s Life of Erasmus, vol. i. page 625.) Some

of the books belonging to that collection were given to the

library of Emden by Laski, (ibid. vol. ii. page 486.)

248 SKETCH OF THE

the doctrines of the Reformation, although he

ostensibly remained in the communion of Rome.

He was successively nominated canon of Gnezno,

custos of Plock, and dean of Gnezno and Lowicz;

he received those dignities, still entertaining the

hope that it would be possible to reform the

church of Rome without seceding from its obedi

ence, and it was in accordance with that opinion

that Erasmus was induced by him to present to

the Polish monarch, although in a very cautious

manner, the necessity of some reforms in the Roman hierarchy.*

We have already mentioned, that he was

created by the influence of his brother Jaroslaf,

* "

Utraquc pars, ut habet qucedam non aspernanda yita mixti

sunt etinm illis, qui sub ecclesice vexillis militare videntur, quos

apparet victoriam, Christo debitam ad se rapturos, nisi summorum

principum auctoritas, et illorum insanos tumultos coercerat et ra-

pinam prohibeat. Itajieri potest ut ex hoc amaro pharmaco, quo

torquetur mundus, aliquid bonce sanitatis consequatur, ac victoria

cedat non hominibus^ sed ecclesics principi Christo cui debetur

omnis gloria : qui Jbrtassis, ideo passus est has rerum hu-

manarum procellas incidere, ut quosdam mundana prosperi-

tatis abundantia velut ebrios, ad Christiana mentis sobrietatem ex-

pergefaceret." (Ep. ad Sigismundum Reg . Polonise, May 1527.)

lie positively says, at the beginning of this letter, that he had

been encouraged to address the Polish monarch by John Laski.

Erasmus says also, in a letter addressed soon afterwards to

Christopher Szydlowiecki, chancellor of Poland, alluding to the

foregoing epistle," hac de re scripsi nonnihil et inclyto Rcgi

Polonice Sigismundo, jam semel atquc iterum ornatissimijuvenis,

Joannis a Lasco litteris provocatus"


in 1520, bishop of Vesprin in Hungary, and

he was nominated in 1536, bishop of Cujavia,

and there is no doubt that the influence of his

family, united with his own merit, would have

raised him to the first dignities of the Polish

church : but, seeing at last no hope of the church

of Rome effecting its own reformation, he resolved He leaves his

i country in

on leaving his country in order to devote himself order to devote

with more freedom and effect to the cause of the effectually to

T-k /* . T . ji.iii the cause of theReformation. It seems that he had communi- Reformation.

cated his intentions to the monarch, who perhapsafraid of the disturbances which the secession

from the Roman church of such an eminent

individual as John Laski might have caused, in a

country where the Protestant party was still very

weak, afforded to him an honourable pretext for

going abroad. Laski left Poland in 1537, invested

as it seems with a diplomatical character, but we

know not the precise nature of his appointment.*

We are unable to ascertain whither Laski went

on leaving Poland;we only know that having

*Bullinger calls Laski, in 1544, "Regis

Pokmice Legatus."

("Scrinium antiquarium/ vol. iv. page 446.) Laski himself

says, in the dedication to Sigismund Augustus of his Account

of the Foreign Church/ that he left Poland with the consent of

his monarch. But Pellican wrote to Laski in 1544," Intellexe-

ram te cxuhm ab Evangeliam," apud Gabbema, Ossolinski says

that Laski was deprived of his dignities and exiled : but this

was done only when he publicly declared his opinions by

marrying a wife.

250 SKETCH OF THE

He publiclyembraces the

reformed reli

gion,

and settles in

Friesland,where he is

entrusted with

the organization of the

churches.

publicly declared his adherence to the Protestant

church, such as it was established by the

Reformers of Switzerland, he married a wife at

Mayence, in 1540, having sacrified the splendid

prospects of preferment which he would have

obtained had he remained in the pale of the

Roman church.* His marriage, which completed

in a most decisive manner his separation from

Rome, naturally excited against him the violent

hatred of the Roman clergy, who having excom

municated Laski as a professed heretic, attempted

to calumniate him at the court of Brabant. Till

1540, Laski seems not to have been engaged in

any public ministry : but his extensive and diver

sified information, his upright character, and the

friendly intercourse which he maintained with

the first scholars of his time, acquired for him a

great reputation amongst the Protestant princes,

who sought to attract him to their states. Enno,

count of East Friesland, who had shortly before

his death resolved on introducing a complete re

formation of the church in his states, which had

been in some degree commenced as early as in

1528, proposed to Laski to accomplish that im-

* Laski says himself ;" Eram pridem insignis phariseus

multis ornatus titulis, multis et opulentis sacerdotiis a puero adhuc

pulchre suffarcinatus 1544. Bonus Deus me mihi restituit, atque ad

veram sui cognitionem e media pharisaismo tandem evocavit."

1545, Scrinium antiquarium, vol. viii.


portant work. Laski, who had settled at Em-den, capital of Friesland, refused for some time to

accept the supreme direction of the churches of

that principality. The death of Count Enno, in

1540, suspended the negotiation on that subject;but Enrio s sister Anna, sovereign princess of

Friesland, insisted that Laski should undertakethe organization of the churches in her dominions.Laski hesitated for a long time to accept that im

portant commission, pointing out his friend Har-

denberg as a fit person for the accomplishmentof such a task

;till at last, induced by the general

supplications of the senate and people of Emden,he accepted the proffered charge in 1543, andwas nominated the following year superintendentof all the churches of Friesland. The difficulties

which he had to encounter, in completing the

great work of Reformation in that principality,were indeed very great, as he was obliged to

struggle against the marked reluctance to the

entire abolition of Romanist rites, many of whichwere still retained by the churches ofthat country ;

against the corruption of the clergy ;and above all,

against the lukewarmness in religious matterswith which many persons were infected. The

uncompromising zeal of the Polish reformer, andhis perseverance, unshaken by any disappointment,succeeded, after six years of hard struggle, in

weeding out completely the remnants of Romansuperstition, and in fully establishing the Protes-

252 SKETCH OF THE

tant religion. During that period, interrupted by

some intervals, in which Laski, disgusted by the

obstacles which were continually thrown in his

way, had been obliged to resign his office, he

abolished the worship of images ;introduced an

improved order of hierarchy and church disci

pline; established a pure scriptural mode of

receiving communion, and of explaining its mean

ing ;and determined a confession of faith, so that

he may be considered as the real founder of the

Protestant church of Friesland.*

The reputation of Laski induced many Pro

testant princes and churches to claim his assis

tance, and to request his advice. Albert Veden,

archbishop of Cologne, and the duke of Hessen,

frequently consulted him on many ecclesiastical

affairs. Albert, duke of Prussia, proposed to

Laski the supreme direction of the ecclesiastical

affairs of his dominions; but Laski set up as a

condition the complete independence of the

church from the temporal power, or its entire

separation from the state. He was, moreover,

* Laski himself describes the difficulties with which he had

to deal in Friesland :

"

Ego enim nulli sciens et valens paream.

Principem mihifaventem habeo, quce ut est pia plane et Christi-

anafcemina ita me ne deseram rogat. His vero aulicis nihil minus

cordi est, quam religio, et sine legibus vivere assueti, ne nomcn

quidem disciplines ferunt. Me hie diu non csse mansurum, neque

enim puto istos laturos meam reprehensionem, multominus disci-

plinam." 1544>, Bibl. Bremensis.


exceedingly adverse to the Roman Catholic rites

which were still retained by the Lutheran church.

These circumstances rendered impossible the

acceptation of duke Albert s proposition, and the

negotiation was dropped on both sides.* It wasthen that Laski drew up his confession, which he

gave as the standard of faith to the churches of

Friesland. He communicated it to many eminent

reformers, as Melancthon, Bucer, Bullinger, Pel-

lican, and Hardenberg. This confession, whichmaintained the same doctrine about the communion that has been adopted by the reformers

of Switzerland and the Anglican church, raised

a violent indignation amongst the Lutherans. Thedivines of Brunswick, Hamburg, and Bremenattacked Laski in the most abusive and coarse

manner, which lie answered in a tone of Christian

chanty and meekness, opposing argument to the

low abuse of the Lutheran divines.

During his residence at Emden, Laski was

frequently obliged to engage in polemical dis

cussion with many of those wild sectarians whoinfested Germany in the sixteenth century. The

* " Quoniam sim migraturus nondum scio, scd vocor a multis.

1541. Vocor quidem et magnis prccibus a Prussia duce homine

pio, et nobis jamdudum addicto." His good opinion about the

duke of Prussia did not however last long, as he saysafterwards of Prussia,

" Summam illic csse barbaricm ct

Luthero Papismum." Lutheranism preserved, indeed, a great

many remnants of Romanism.

254 SKETCH OF THE

celebrated Menno Simonis* preached his doc

trines in the midst of Emden, Laski invited him

to a friendly discussion, which was accepted, but

did not produce any effect. The sect of David

Georgis violently agitated Emden at that time.

Laski had many theological discussions with that

sectarian, but when all his efforts to convert them

remained fruitless, the authorities of Emdenordered David Georgis and his followers to leave

the town. The constant difficulties with which

Laski had to struggle, in promoting his great

work in Friesland, compelled him to resign, in

1546, the supreme direction of the ecclesiastical

affairs of that country, and to limit his activity to

the office of a simple minister of a church at

Emden. He perceived with great pain that

a marked leaning to Lutheranism was be

ginning to prevail amongst the inhabitants of

Friesland. A clergyman of the name of Lemmiuswas the chief promoter of that party, which

rapidly increasing, loudly manifested the project

of calling Melancthon, in order to establish

* Menno was born in Friesland in 1496, and was ordained a

Roman Catholic priest in 1524. He embraced the opinions

of the Anabaptists in 1536, and is the founder of the sect of

Mennonites, who are a branch of the Anabaptists, and are

distinguished by their great morality. Menno died in 1561,

in Holstein, and left many works of a polemical and mysticnature ; a collection of them was published in Amsterdam,

1600, 1646, 1681.


v-

Liitheran worship, instead of that which had been

introduced by Laski. At the same time he

received a most flattering invitation from the

archbishop Cranmer to join the many eminent

reformers who were then called to England in Laski is invited

order to complete the reformation of its church.* J^iShimlntc

The above-mentioned invitation was chiefly made J^urcTof Eng-

by the influence of Peter Martyr and Turner,landl

the second of whom particularly recommended

Laski to the Protector Somerset, who wrote also

himself on that occasion to the Polish reformer.

Although Laski had still a strong party in

Friesland, and enjoyed the favour of the sove

reign princess, who was very reluctant to part

with him, and was induced only by the pressing-

demands of the English court to grant him leave

of absence, he resolved on accepting the invi

tation of Cranmer.

Being, however, uncertain as to the real prin- n is first visit

to England.

*< Joanne A. Lasco amlco suo carissimo. Cupimus nostris

ccclesiis veram de Deo proponerc doctrinam, ncc volumus

cothurnum facere, aid ambiguttatibus ludere, scd remota omni

prudcntta carnis, veram perspicuam, sacrarum litterarum normce,

convenientem doctrines formam ad posteros transmittere, ad per-

ficiendam rem tantam, eruditorum hominum presentia nolis opus

esse judicavimus, qui collatis nobiscum judiciis doctrines contro-

versias tollant et integrum corpus ver<z doctrines extruant. Ac-

cerivimus igitur et te et alios quosdam doctos viros qui cum ad

nos venirent, ita ut nullum ferre ex us prceter et Melancthonem

desideremus ; summopere te rogamus ut et ipse ad nos venias.

T. Cantuariensis Londini. July 4, 1548 apud Gabbema.

256 SKETCH OF THE

ciples on which the reformation of the English

church was to be effected, he resolved to make,

previously, only a temporary visit to England, in

order to become thoroughly acquainted with the

projects of the English reformers. He therefore

took a temporary leave of the congregation over

which he presided as a minister, and having

received an authorization to that effect from his

monarch, he repaired to England, where he ar

rived in September 1548, after having crossed

Brabant and other Roman Catholic countries in

disguise. A residence of six months at Lambeth

with the archbishop Cranmer, established an

intimate friendship between these two eminent

reformers, who entirely coincided in their views

on the reformation of the church in point of

doctrine, as well as in that of hierarchy and

church discipline. Laski wrote from Windsor to

his congregation a consolatory epistle, and havingleft England in company with an ambassador, he

arrived at Emben, where he found the affairs of

his congregation in a very dangerous state, as is

evident from the letter which he addressed from

the above-mentioned town to Sir William Cecil,

on the 9th April 1549.* He visited Bremen,

Hamburg, Dantzic, Konisgberg, and many other

places. The impression which he left in Englandwas of the most favourable nature, and Latimer

* Vide Strype s Memorials of Cranmer, page 231.


in a sermon preached before king Edward the

Sixth, extolled Laski with high praises.*

The introduction of the Interim of 1548,finto Friesland accelerated Laski s departurefrom that country. He was moreover accused of

political intrigues, and that the object of his

journey to England was to arrange an alliance

between the kings of Poland and England,against the emperor. The falsehood of this ac

cusation was proved by a letter which Sigismund

* Latimer also made way for his reception, and in oneof his sermons before king Edward, made honourable mention of him, using an argument proper for that audience,vis. how much it would tend to the bringing down God s

blessing on the realm, to receive him and such pious exiles

as he. " John A. Lasco was here, a great learned man, and as"

they say a nobleman in his country, and is gone his way"

again. If it be for lack of entertainment, the more the"

pity. I could wish such men as he to be in the realm," for the realm should prosper in receiving them. He that" receiveth you receiveth me, saith Christ, and it should be" for the king s honour to receive them and to keep them."

Vide Strype, page 236.

f This ordinance of Charles the Fifth, called so from being

proclaimed as a temporary enactment until the affairs of

the church should be settled by a general council, allowed

to the Protestants of Germany only the communion of two

kinds, while it compelled them to receive all the Romantenets and rites which had been abolished. It was abrogated

by the convention of Passau in 1552, and the peace of Augsburg, by which full religious liberty was conceded to the

Protestants.

VOL. I. S

258 SKETCH OF THE

He returns to

created

the

e

fore?gn

Augustus himself addressed to Laski on that

subject, and which reached him before his de

parture from Emden,* which he left in October,

and after having resided for some time at Bremen

and Hamburg, he embarked from the last-named

town, and reached England in the spring of 1550.

Laski was nominated the superintendent of

the foreign Protestant congregation established

at London. It was composed of French, Ger

mans, and Italians, who found both asylum and

liberal support from the English Government.

The congregation received the church of Austin

Friars, and a charter conferring on them all

the rights of a corporation. The object of such

a congregation w:as very important, and proves

the enlightened zeal and the extensive views of

Cranmer, as it might easily have become the seed

of reformation in those countries whence its

members were obliged to flee. The nomination of

Laski, given by Edward VI. 24th July 1550, was

couched in the most flattering terms.t We will

* Vide Friese, vol. i. page 282.

f" Voluimus praterea quod Johannes A Lasco natione

Polonus, homo propter integritalem et innocentiam vitce, ac

morum et singularem eruditionem valde Celebris^ sit primus et

wodernus superintended dictce ecclesice ; et quod Gualterus Dolo-

emus, Martinus Flandrus, Franciscus Riverius, Richardus

Gallus, sint quatuor primi et moderni ministri. Damns pr&terea et concedimus prcefatis, superintendenti et ministris et sue-

cessoribus suis facultatem, auctoritatem, et licentiam, post mortem

vel


give the description of A. Lasco s residence in

London in the very words of Cranmer s bio

grapher Strype (quern vide, page 234)." It

was but a little after the king had received this

congregation of foreigners into England, and had

granted them a church, viz. St. Augustine s, that

a great contest happened among them about

their church, yielded them for their religious

worship." This Peter Martyr took notice of with

grief to Bucer, and adds, that their minds

were so implacable to one another, that the

difference was fain to be referred to the PrivyCouncil to make an end of. But not to leave our

superintendent yet.

A Lasco, with his strangers, being settled in

London, and incorporated by the king s patents,

being their chief pastor and a stirring-man, was

very industrious to procure and maintain the

liberties and benefits of his church. The members thereof had planted themselves chiefly at

St. Katherine s and in Great and Little South-

wark. Here they were now and then called

vel vacationem alicujus ministri predicatorum de tempore in tempus

eligendi, nominandi, ct surrogandi aliam personam habilem et

idoneam in locum suum ; ita tamen quod persona sic nominatus et

electus prcesentetur et sistatur coram nobis, heredibus vel successo-

ribus nostris, et per nos hceredes vel successores noslros insti-

tuantur in ministeriumprcedictum"

Vide Burnet s History of

the Reformation, vol. ii. page 204, of the Collection of the

Records.

s 2

260 SKETCH OF THE

upon, by the churchwardens of their respective

parishes, to resort to their parish churches ;

though the ministers themselves did not appear

in it. In the month of November, anno 1552,

some of these strangers inhabiting the parts of

Southwark were again troubled by their church

wardens, and threatened with imprisonmentunless they would come to church. Where

upon the superintendent, A Lasco, applied

himself to the Lord Chancellor, who was then

Goodrich, bishop of Ely. By the way, one

might inquire why he resorted not rather to his

friend and patron, the archbishop of Canterbury ?

But the reason may soon be guessed ; namely,

that after the fall of Somerset, the archbishop s

good friend, he came not so often to court or

transacted business there unless sent for, know

ing his interest likewise to be but little with

the duke of Northumberland, who now bore

all the sway, and who had a jealous eye of

him, as he had of all Somerset s friends. Andso the archbishop might rather have hinder

ed than forwarded A Lasco s business if he

had appeared in it. But this en passant. The

Chancellor gently received A Lasco, and dis

missing him, sent him to Secretary Cecyl with

this message, to get him to propound the bu

siness the next day in the afternoon at the

council board, when himself should be there :

promising him likewise that he would be assis-


tant to him in procuring him a warrant in

writing to be directed to all ministers and

churchwardens of the parishes of Southwark and

St. Catherine, that for the time to come the

strangers of this congregation should receive no

molestation in that regard any more."

Accordingly A Lasco next morning sent one

of the elders of the church to Cecyl with his

letter, excusing himself that he came not, being

grievously afflicted with a pain in his head.

Therein he acquainted him with the sum of his

conference with the Lord Chancellor, adding that

the obtaining such a warrant would be necessary

for them to produce and show, to such as at that

present did annoy them, and to be hereafter

kept by the church, that they might not be

forced at other times, upon the like occasion,

to create new trouble to the king s council or

himself, in suing for new warrants of that nature;

meaning hereby to put the secretary upon drawingthis up the more formally and substantially.

And so entreating him to hear what the elder

had to say and to despatch him, he took his

leave."

The superintendency of A Lasco seemed to

extend not only to this particular congregationof Germans, but over all the other churches of

foreigners set up in London, as also over their

schools of learning and education; they were

all subject to his inspection, and within his juris-

262 SKETCH OF THE

diction. And Melancthon, in an epistle to him in

the month of September 1551, speaks ofthe purity

of doctrine in his churches. His condition now as

to worldly circumstances began to be so good,that he was able to relieve and succour such

learned foreigners as should retire hither;

for

when one Nicholas Forst, a learned and grave

man, who had lived long in the university of

Louvain and had spent some time with Melanc

thon, wras minded for the sake of religion to convey

himself into England, he recommended him ear

nestly to the superintendent as a person fit to

teach in his churches and schools : and that he

would friendly entertain him as an exile for the

same cause himself was, and find him some little

nest to remain in. Nay, and the said Melancthon

himself had some thoughts of sheltering himself

under A Lasco here, as appears by the fore-men

tioned letter, wherein he styles him his patron;

for the superscription of his letter is this :" II-

lustri Magnifico ac Reverendo Viro, Nobilitate

generis, Virtute et Sapientid pr&stanti Domino Johanni A. Lasco, Patrono suo colendo"

So much of deference and honour did learned

and pious men then use to give him. In this

letter Melancthon told him that the calamities

were great, and that he himself expected banish

ment, and might probably in a short time arrive

where he was. And in respect of his hospitable

reception of strangers, he told him that he be-


lieved he did often remember the saying of the

exiled queen:" Hand ignara mali, miseris succurrere

disco."

Burnett accuses Laski, that, being a foreigner,

he intermeddled with the affairs of the English

church,* by giving his opinions about some

points of the discipline and ritual of that church.

But we ask every unprejudiced reader whether it

was blame or praise that Laski deserved, when

having been called to this country purposely for

the object ofco-operating in the great work of the

reformation of its church,f he openly declared

what he conscientiously believed to be ri-ht?

Many others in his place, would perhaps have

abstained from giving utterance to sentiments

opposed to those which were entertained by the

men on whom their worldly interests were de

pending, instead of maintaining, as Laski did,

their principles at the risk of losing the favour

of their friends. We suppose that Burnett, whoonly slightly touches on the residence of Laski

in England, was ignorant of his having been

* " But A. Lasco did not carry himself with that decencythat became a stranger who was so kindly received, for hewrote against the orders of this church, both in the manner of

its habits and about the posture in the sacrament, beingfor sitting {rather than kneeling." Vide Burnet s History ofthe Reformation*

t Vide Cranmer s letter to Laski, July 4, 1548, note in

page 255.

264 SKETCH OF THE

invited to this country as a reformer, and that he

believed him to have been only the chief of the

Protestant refugees, and that otherwise he would

not have proffered against him such an unjust

accusation.

The frankness with which Laski expressed his

opinions about different ecclesiastical matters did

not injure the estimation is which he was held bythe English Government, because, according to

the same Burnett, he was nominated one of the

divines who formed part of the commission ap

pointed on theGth October 1551, for the reforma

tion of the ecclesiastical law.*

The demise of Edward the Sixth, and the

accession of queen Mary, intercepted the progress

of the Reformation in England ;but the violent

reaction in favour of Romanism was not extended

to the foreign church, the members of which wereLaski is obliged permitted to leave the country without molesta-to leave Eng-

rlaud with his tion. Laski embarked on the 15th Septembercongregation.

1553, at Gravesend, on board two Danish

vessels, with 175 individuals, who resolved to

follow their pastor and to share his fate.

A storm scattered the little fleet which bore

They suffer from England the pious wanderers, and the shippersecutionfrom the Lu-

* These divines were Taylor, Cox, Parker, Latimer,

Cook, Peter Martyr, Cheek, John A Lasco Vide Burnett s

History of the Reformation, vol. iii. page 208, edition 1715. Wemust add that Laski promoted by his exertions the printing

of the Common Prayer Book in French.


in which Laski was embarked entered the port therans in pen-mark and in

Elsinore, in Denmark. The king granted him a some parts of

Germany.favourable audience, and refused not a hospitable

reception to the pilgrims ;but Noviomagus, the

chaplain of the king, a zealous Lutheran, suc

ceeded in changing the mind of the monarch. He

violently attacked the reformed church in a ser

mon at which Laski was present, being invited

by the king. Laski deeply felt that mean breach

ofh ospitality committed by the Lutheran clergy,

who did not limit their persecution to such a

despicable proceeding as to insult a person in

misfortune; they proposed to him to abandon

what they called his heresy ;and the apology for

his creed which Laski presented to the king did

not soften the odium theologicum of the Danish

clergy, whom Laski justly calls "

Rigidi fidei

Lutherante exactores" Having abandoned Romanism in a very imperfect manner, they seemed

to have retained, with many superstitions of that

church, its spirit of persecution. Westphalus, a

Lutheran divine, called the wandering church of

Laski the martyrs of the devil ;and Bugenhagius,

another divine of the same communion, declared

that they should not be considered as Christians.*

* "

Quotidie experior Lutheranos etjudicio superiore et charitate

atque ideo humanitate vacuos, accelerare sibi justum Dominijudici-

um : perpessi sumus et dissimulavimus eorum barbaram duritiem.

Librum J. Westphali hominis crassi accept. Dominus ignoscat huic

et reliquis plane ineptis Lutherants." (Bullinger 1554, apud

Baggema

266 SKETCH OF THE

The congregation of Laski received the intimation

that the king would rather suffer Papists than

them in his dominions, and they were obliged to

embark, notwithstanding the inclemency of the

season;the children of Laski alone were permit

ted to remain till the return of more favourable

weather. The same hatred of the Lutherans

persecuted the congregation of Laski at Ham

burg, Lubeck, and Rostock; and the Lutheran

ministers, in whose minds divinity seemed to have

stifled Christianity, refused even to listen to them,

condemning their doctrine without a hearing.

Dantzic gave an asylum to the remnants of the

unfortunate congregation, and Laski himself, who

Baggema.) Vergerius describes this Westphalus as a

ineptus et inopportunus"

Calvinus, "juxtanc J. A. Lasco quce-

sitos esse perhibet Hosius, quod Lutherus papatum non sustulerit

sed se ipsum potius papam fecerit, loco lignei, ferreum imposu-erit

jugum" (Bock Hist. Antitrinitar.)" Iste vero (Laski)

qucesivit sibi hactenus locum, ubi cum suis sibi constituat singu-

larem ecclesiam, qua nunquam fuit Christi." (Bugenhagius

Scrip. Antiq. vol. v. page 93.) Friese, a Lutheran writer of

the eighteenth century,, seems to have greatly retained the

prejudices of his co-religionists of the tenth, against Laski. Heaccuses him, amongst other things, of having declared, when at

Emden, that Luther was an illiterate boor. Vide his Beytragezur Reformation Geschichte in Polen, vol. i. page 280. It is a

fact that Laski was rather severe on the Lutherans, for their

almost Romanist explanation of the Eucharist, as he says of

them in one place," Idolum nobis in Sacramentis erexit Sa-

tanus, prodigiosa idolatria, magics prcestigie."


retired to Emden, was received with every markofrespect and attachment by his former disciples.*

He sent from Emden to the king of Denmark a

severe remonstrance against the unmerited treat

ment he had met in his states, and he soon

received an invitation from Gustavus Vasa, kingof Sweden, to settle in his dominions, with a promise of full liberty of conscience to him and

his congregation. Laski did not take advantageof that offer, apparently intending to settle in

Friesland, where he had formerly laboured with

so much advantage to the cause of the Reforma

tion. His hopes of remaining there were, how

ever, soon disappointed by the growing influence

of Lutheranism, and the hostility of the court of

Brabant, which could not bear the vicinity of

such an eminent reformer. These circumstances

united in rendering Laski s residence at Emden

irksome, and he consequently resolved to return

to his own country, where the Protestant party

was in great want of such a learned and experienced leader. Notwithstanding all the efforts

which the inhabitants of Emden, faithful to the

founder of their church, made in order to retain

him, and the offers of the reigning princess,

he retired to Frankfort on the Maine, where

* " Ita vero hie excepti sumus, ut si ad maxime necessaries

venissem, amantius except non potuerim." Laski s letter, Decem

ber 1553. Vide Bibl. Bremensis.

268 SKETCH OF THE

he established a church for the Belgian Protestant

refugees, whose rites and confession received a

full authorization from the senate of the city.

Laski maintained constantly an intercourse

with many of his countrymen, about religious as

well as personal affairs;

he continued to enjoy

the regard of his sovereign, and we have already

said, that on his leaving Poland, he was entrust

ed by Sigismund the First with a diplomatical

mission ;and that Sigismund Augustus bore evi

dence by his own letter, against the calumnious

reports spread about Laski. During his residence

in England, Edward the Sixth wrote to Sigis

mund Augustus, representing him as a man gifted

with eminent qualities, and possessing a most

extensive information. Laski never lost sight of

his great object, which was to promote the cause

of the Reformation in his own country, as soon as

a fit opportunity for action might present itself.

When he engaged in his apostolical duties, in

Friesland as well as in this country, it was

always on the express condition that he should

be able to return to his native land, as soon as its

religious affairs should render his presence useful

and necessary.

Efforts of Laski During his residence at Frankfort, Laski was

Protestant

6

particularly engaged in attempts at uniting thechurches. two protestant churches, i. e. the Lutheran and

Reformed. He was encouraged to promote that

union by the letters of his sovereign, Sigismund


Augustus, who considered such an union as an

important step towards an amicable settlement

of the religious dissensions which agitated his

kingdom, and which he had much at heart. Such

an union was moreover of the greatest importanceto the Protestant cause, which was much weakened by those unfortunate dissensions. Induced

by such motives, Laski presented to the senate of

Frankfort a memorial, where he proved that there

was not sufficient cause for dividing the two Pro

testant churches. A discussion on that important

subject, fixed for the 22d May 1*556, and favoured

by several German princes, was expected to produce that desideratum : but the Lutheran divine,

Brentius, destroyed at once every hope of con

ciliation, by exacting that the followers of the

Reformed church should sign the confession of

Augsburg. The same Brentius tried to establish

the Ubiquitatem, maintaining it by argumentswhich Laski declared to be paradoxes, unheard-

of before, and which could not be supported

either by the Scriptures or by the Fathers. Bren

tius answered the objections of Laski by calling

him Studium imposturce* The discussion widen-

* Serin. Antiq. vol. ii. pages 477, 542. We are sorry to

say that even Melancthon, who not only professed a great

admiration for Laski, but even inclined at that time to the

tenets of the Swiss Reformers, which were maintained by

Laski, speaks in a letter to Camerarius of the man whomhe called his patron, in the following terms :

" Ilh vero

Sarmaticus

270 SKETCH OF THE

ed the breach instead of effecting a reconcilia

tion. Laski lost not, however, the hope of effect

ing the desired union, and in order to make a last

effort, he went to Wittemberg, having been

induced by the duke of Hessen to converse with

Melancthon on that important subject. He was

received there with great distinction, and the

university wished to honour him in a public man

ner, which however Laski declined. He did not

succeed in obtaining an official discussion on

the subject in question, but Melancthon en

trusted him with a letter to the king of Poland,

to which he added the modified confession of

Augsburg, with the promise of sending a more

ample explanation of that subject, if the kingshould decide on establishing the Reformation

in his country. Sigismund Augustus read Me-

lancthon s letter, and believed that there was a

possibility of effecting an union of the Protestant

churches of Poland;an event which took place

afterwards, and which we shall describe in its

proper place.

Before Laski returned to his native land he

published a new edition of his account of the

foreign churches, which he had superintendedin London, as well as after his expulsion from

Sarmaticus, qui nihil moderate spirans, dominari ubivis voluit,

ejusque reformatis fatentibus, per imprudentiam et contentiosum

ingenium, non solum in Dania sed ubivis rebus suorum officit.


England ;he dedicated it to his monarch, the

senate, and all the states of his country, the 6th

September 1555, Frankfort on the Maine.* Heexplained besides in a calm and dignified manner,but with strong argument, his views about the

necessity of a reformation in Poland, and the

motives which had induced him to reject the

doctrine and hierarchy of Rome. He maintained

that the gospels alone were the true foundation of

religious doctrine and of the ecclesiastical disci

pline, and that neither tradition nor long-established custom could have any authority what

ever;that even the evidence of the fathers of

the church was not decisive, as they have fre

quently expressed opinions widely differing one

from another;and that they endeavoured to esta

blish a complete unity of faith, without ever at

taining that desideratum;that the surest means

of removing every doubt and uncertainty, wasto investigate the doctrines and the organization

* The title of this work is :" Forma ac Ratio iota Ecclesi-

astica Ministerii, in peregrinorum vero Germanorum Ecclesia

instituta. Londini in Anglia per pientissimum principem Anglice

fyc. Regem Eduardum ejus nominis Sextum, anno post Christum

natum 1550. Addito ad calcem libelli privilegio suce Majestatis,

Autore Joanne A. Lasco, Polonies barone. Cum brevi etiam (in

epistola nuncupatoria) calumniarum quarundam rejutatione ; quce

Jalso adversus ipsum in Martiniani cujusdam apud Bremen.

Pastorefarragine inspersce habentur."

Vir lingua non dirigetur in terra ; Virum iniquum malumvenebitur ad prcecipitium. Psalm 140.

272 SKETCH OF THE

of the primitive apostolical church : that the

words of the gospel cannot be expounded and

its sense extended by expressions entirely foreign

to its spirit, and that councils and learned divines

have in this respect made many abuses. He also

stated that the Pope was raising great obstacles

to the restoration of the gospel, which it was

necessary to overcome, and that a very prosperous

beginning to that effect had already been made;

the king being not adverse to the reform which

was demanded by the greatest and best part of the

inhabitants of the country.* The reforms should,

however, be said, be carried on with great judg

ment, because not every one who reasoned against

Rome was necessarily orthodox. It was neces

sary to take care that, instead of the old tyranny,

a new one should not be raised;or that, on the

other hand, a too great indulgence might not give

birth to atheism, to which many people seemed

to have a great inclination. The dispute about

the true meaning of the Eucharist being till

now doubtful and indefinite, it is necessary to

pray God that he may enlighten us on that im

portant subject. However, the body and blood

of our Lord are received only by faith (ajtde

*"Non a ministris modo iisdemque plurimis, idem plebis multi-

tudine, sed ab universa propemodum nobilitate, etiam virorum

nobilium ordine, instauratio religionis pia, publicejuxta verbum."

(Serin Antiquarium, torn. iii. folio 1.)


sold reciperunt); there is neither personal nor

bodily presence in the communion. Besides this

exposition of his religious principles, he added

some explanations personally relating to himself;

as, for instance, that he never was an exile from

his country, but left it with the authorization of

the late monarch;that he had fulfilled in many

parts of Europe the duties of a Christian pastor;that he was a superintendent of the foreign con

gregation, whose doctrines and organization he

proposed as a model for the reformation of

the Polish church. Such an eminent character

as Laski was certainly the most proper personto take the lead of the Reformation in Poland,

and it was but natural that the Protestants

looked to him with hope and admiration, equalto the malice and anger with which he was

viewed by the Roman Catholics, who attemptedto spread the foulest calumnies against him.

Laski arrived in Poland in the month of Decem- Lasid s return

ber 1556; and as soon as his arrival became where^e con-

known, the bishops, excited by the nuncio of the

Pope, Aloysius Lippomani, convoked a meetingin order to deliberate about the manner of acting

against the "butcher (carnifex) of the church and

Poland," as Zebrzydowski called Laski. Theywent in crowds to the king, representing to himthe dangers of the arrival of such a man as Laski,

who, according to their version, was an outlawed

heretic, and who, being expelled from every

VOL. I. T

274 SKETCH OF THE

place, returned to his native land in order to

produce troubles and commotions;that he was

collecting troops in order to destroy the churches

of the diocese of Cracow, intending to raise a

rebellion against the monarch, and to spread riots

and depredations over all the country. The king

was, however, very far from approving the clamour

of the bishops, which produced no effect upon his

mind. It was then that Lippomani advised the

king to adopt the most tyrannical and unprin

cipled measures in order to exterminate heresy.*

Soon after his return to Poland, Laski was

entrusted with the superintendence of all the

reformed churches in Little Poland. The chief

object of his strenuous exertions was now to

unite all the Protestants into one body, and he

strongly urged them to forsake several minor

points of difference which divided them, in order

to defend with united forces the great evangelical

truths common to all their confessions. This pro

ject was much facilitated by the union which

had already taken place in 1555, at the synod of

Kozminek, between the reformed churches of the

Bohemian Brethren.

When Laski arrived in Poland, Sigismund

Augustus was at Vilna, capital of Lithuania.

Being anxious to act in a decisive manner, he

resolved on going to Vilna in order to induce the

* Vide next chapter.


monarch to adopt the great measures of reforma

tion loudly demanded by the most enlightened

part of the nation. This journey, which filled the

Roman Catholics with dismay, did not, however,take place, for reasons which we are unable to

explain.* Laski sent to the monarch an expo-sition of his views about the reformation of the

Polish church, letters of Melancthon, and the

modified Augustan confession. The king received

the letters of Laski in a very favourable manner,but delayed to take any decisive steps until an

union amongst the Protestants themselves should

be effected.

About the same time the Italian Lismanini The Italian

returned to Poland. We have already described inS^JLtthe prominent part which he had taken in the cause ot the

meetings of the secret assembly of Cracow, wrhich

discussed religious subjects, and which he fur-

nished with the new works of the reformers;

opinions

we have also mentioned the dangers to whichhe had been exposed in 1549, by the accusations

which the bishop of Cracow sent to Rome

against him. These circumstances confirmed still

*Christopher Warszewicki, a Roman Catholic author of

the sixteenth century, says that Laski had seen Sigismund

Augustus, and conversed with him ; he also states that Laski

had been sent in a diplomatic capacity to Henry the Eighthbetween 1527-30, and that he was employed in the same

capacity to the duke of Prussia about 1557. We have, how

ever, no other authority for corroborating this statement

T 2

276 SKETCH OF THE

more his anti-Romanist opinions, although he

strictly preserved the outward appearance of

a Roman Catholic monk. Lismanini could have

been one of the most useful promoters of the

Reformation in Poland, by his free access to

Sigismund Augustus, whose favour he had gained

by bringing about an apparent reconciliation

between his queen, Barbara Radziwill, and his

royal mother. Lismanini employed, indeed, the

influence which he had over the monarch in

order to convert him to the doctrines of the Re

formation, and he expounded to him for some

time, on Wednesdays and Fridays, the Institutes

of Calvin. The king, being anxious to know the

real state of the Reformation in Germany, and

other parts of Europe, in respect to its doctrines,

as well as the influence which they exercised over

the countries where they were prevalent, com

missioned Lismanini to visit the principal parts

of Europe in which Protestantism was introduced,

and to give him a faithful account on the above-

mentioned subject. The real object of Lisma-

nini s mission was, however, kept very secret,

and he left Poland in 1553, with the ostensible

purpose of making some learned investigations,

and of purchasing books for the royal library.

He began by visiting Italy, and remained for

some time at Venice, Padua, and Milan, where

he excited such a strong suspicion of heresy,

that he was imprisoned, but afterwards released,


as being intrusted with the commissions of the

king of Poland. From thence he proceeded to

Switzerland, where he became intimate with the

most eminent professors of the school of Zurich,

Gualterus, Pellican, Bullinger, Gesner, &c. Heafterwards visited Berne, Geneva, Lyons, andremained for some time at Paris, preserving

always the outward appearance of a Roman Catholic priest. He made, every where, careful in

vestigations on the state of religious affairs, com

municating a part of his observations to king

Sigismund Augustus, but reserving the most

important for his return to Poland. From Paris

he went to Switzerland, where, induced by the

persuasions of Calvin, he publicly embraced Pro

testantism, and married a wife. This proceedingwas very much combated by his companion and

secretary, Stanislaus Budzinski, who representedto him that such a premature declaration of his

Protestant opinions was very injurious to the

cause of the Reformation in Poland, and that

he should have preserved the Roman Catholic

forms until his return to that country, as it wouldhave given him much greater facility for ac

complishing the conversion of the monarch.*

Lismanini s act was certainly impolitic, as the

king, who did not wish publicly to declare his reli

gious opinions, interrupted all intercourse with

* Budzinski became afterwards known as a Socinian writer.

278 SKETCH OF THE

him. The clergy excommunicated him, and the

king, probably offended by Lismanini, who had

in some measure betrayed his own views, signed

an order prohibiting his entrance into Poland,

and stopped the pecuniary supplies with which

he had supported him. He wrote several times

to the king, in order to regain his ancient favour ;

but neither his own letters, nor the intercessions

of Calvin, Bullinger, and Beza seemed to have

produced any effect on the mind of the king, who

was moreover excited against Lismanini by his

mother, queen Bona, who could not pardon her

ancient confessor for having publicly abandoned

the church of Rome. When a Protestant synodwas to be convoked, in 1555, at Pinczow, Calvin

wrote to the most influential Protestants in

Poland, urging them to invite Lismanini as one

who might prove of great use to their cause.

Many eminent persons interceded in his behalf,

and the departure of queen Bona, who left

Poland the same year,* removed the great

obstacle to his return. He arrived at Poland in

June 1555, but remained for some time concealed

at Ivanovitze, in the house of a noble lady called

Agnes Dluski.

He wrote to Tarnowski, who promised to

*Queen Bona left Poland in 1555 and died in 1557,,

at Bari (in the kingdom of Naples), which was her property,

inherited from her mother, a Neapolitan princess..


employ all his interest in order to remove the

decree of exile which was issued against him.

The permission to remain in the country was

finally granted to Lismanini, at the particular

request of Bonar, castellan of Biecz, and Cruciger,

superintendent of the reformed churches of Little

Poland, who interceded with the king in the

name of the nobles and the ministers of their

confession. But, although the monarch revoked

the orders which he had issued against Lisma

nini, he never restored him to his favour, and

never granted him an audience.

Notwithstanding the loss of the favour he

had enjoyed with the monarch, Lismanini mightstill have rendered immense services to the cause

of the Reformation in Poland, by his great

learning, his talents of persuasion, and the greatinfluence which he enjoyed with many eminent

persons in that country, had he remained faithful

to the cause which he had publicly embraced at

Geneva, and cordially united his efforts with

those of Laski, in order to accomplish an union

among the sects which divided the Polish Protes

tants, and which was a preliminary and indis

pensable step for ensuring the ultimate triumphof their cause in Poland. But, unfortunately,he soon began to betray anti-Trinitarian opinions. It is probable that his mind had becomeimbued with them as early as in J551,

when Lelio Socino having arrived in Poland,

280 SKETCH OF THE

found a hospitable reception in his house;

although he concealed his real sentiments so well

that Calvin, as well as the reformers of Zurich, had

for some time firmly believed him to be a staunch

adherent to their doctrines. He was impeachedbefore the synod of Cracow, where his real opi

nions being ascertained, he was excluded from the

reformed church, and soon afterwards left Poland.

He retured to Kbnigsberg, where he termi

nated his life by suicide, in 1563, which he

committed in a fit of insanity caused by domestic

misfortunes.*

Laski, although deprived of the support of

Lismanini, continued with unabated vigour his

efforts to consolidate the cause of the Reformation

in Poland. The united influence of his learning,

moral character, and great family connexions,

particularly contributed to the spread and esta

blishment of the tenets maintained by the Swiss

reformers amongst the higher classes in Poland.

His great object, of which he never lost sight, was

to unite all the Protestant sects in Poland, and

finally to establish the reformation of all the

country, entirely modelled on the plan of the

Anglican church, of which he was a great ad

mirer, and in which he continued to take an

* Lismanini was born in Corfu, and studied in Italy. Hewas recommended to queen Bona by some of her Italian

courtiers.


active interest to the end of his life.* He took a

very active part at the synods of Ivanovitze in

1557, and that of Wlodzislav in 1558, and he maybe considered as having laid the foundation of

the union of the Protestant confessions, which

was effected after his death by the celebrated

* He (A Lasco) was alive at the accession of queen Elizabeth

to the English throne ; and though he came not back then to

England again, whence he departed upon king Edward s death,

yet, according to the great interest he had there with the

most eminent persons, and even the queen herself, he neglected

not by his letters to promote the Reformation, and to give his

grave counsel in order thereunto. And Zanchy, public

professor at Strasburg, knowing the sway he bare here, in

a letter to him in the year in 1558 or 1559, excited him in

these words :

" Non dubito, quin T. P. jamdudum scripserit

ad reginam, eique consuluerit quce pro illius regni conservatione

et regni Christi mstaurationefacienda judicarit" fyc." That he

" doubted not, he had before now written to the queen," and given her his advice, what he judged fit to be* done for the preservation of her kingdom, and for the

"

restoring of the kingdom of Christ. Yet he would not

" omit to pray him to do it again and again by his repeated" letters. For I know/ said he,

* how great your authority"

is with the English, and with the queen herself. Now"

certainly is the time that you, and such as you, should by"

your counsels help so pious a queen, and consult for the safety" of so great a kingdom, yea, and succour the whole Christian

"

church, every where afflicted and vexed ; for we know" that if Christ s kingdom be happily introduced into the

"

kingdom of England, no small aid will thence come to

" all the other churches dispersed through Germany, Poland,

" and other countries/" Vide Strype s Memorials of Arch

bishop Cranmer, pages 238-39.

282 SKETCH OF THE

Consensus Sendomiriensis. He took also an

active part in the translation of the well-known

Bible of Brzesc, and published many books, the

most part of which are now lost. His death, in

1560, interrupted his unwearied exertions in the

great cause of the Reformation, and prevented

him from putting into execution the great designs

for which he was making adequate preparations ;

and we may suppose that, if his life had been

spared, he would have accomplished them, as the

Protestant author Wengierski, who possessed all

the information requisite to form a judgment on

that eminent character, emphatically calls him"

great."He died in 1560, on the 8th January.

On the whole, our information about the exertions

he made after his return to Poland, in order to

promote that great cause which he had advocated

all his life, is very unsatisfactory, and we have

much fewer details respecting that period of his

life, than of the years he had spent in foreign

countries. This scarcity of materials illustrative

of the latter part of his life may be chiefly at

tributed to the careful destruction of all records

relating to the Protestant doctrines and its chief

promoters, which was systematically carried on

by the Roman Catholic clergy, but particularly

by the Jesuits. This must have been especially

the case with Laski, as his descendants, havingturned Romanists, have certainly endeavoured to

destroy all that referred to the labours of their


ancestor, whom they naturally considered as a

promoter of heresy.*

* Laski was twice married. His first wife, a native of

Louvain, died in London, in 1551. The second, named Ca

therine, was probably an Englishwoman ; at least he married

her in England. He left nine children, but we know

only the names of six of them : John, Samuel, Hieronymus,

Thomas, Stanislav, and Barbara. One of his daughters was

married to John Morsztyn, warden of the Salines of Bochnia

and Vieliczka, and another to Stanislav Lutomirski. His son

Samuel served with distinction in the wars of Stephen

Batory, and was sent to Sweden in 1598 by Sigismund the

Third, king of Poland and Sweden, with full powers to

inquire into the dissensions between the senate and Charles

duke of Sudermaland, then regent of the kingdom, and

afterwards king under the name of Charles the Ninth.

Samuel Laski decided, on that occasion, in favour of the

senate, and foresaw the intentions of Charles to appropriate

to himself the crown of his nephew. In 1605, he was

commissioned by the king to arrange some differences which

arose at Dantzic between the Lutherans and the followers

of the Helvetic church. We have already mentioned Albert

Laski, nephew of the reformer, (vide page 244), and weshall have further opportunity of doing so. The family of

Laski, whose immense riches were exhausted by their

ambitious projects, dwindled into insignificance, and became

Roman Catholic. There was a celebrated Jesuit, Martinus

Laski, who persuaded the council of the city of Cracow to

turn Roman Catholic, and who published many works replete

with most scurrilous abuse against the Protestants ; but

we are unable to ascertain in what kind of relationship he

stood to our reformer.

We conclude our notice about Laski with the following evi

dences of the high estimation in which he was held by his con

temporaries.

284 SKETCH OF THE

temporaries. B. Amersbach calls (1527) Laski his patron. The

celebrated philologer Beatus Rhenanus dedicated to him his edi

tion of Pliny s Natural History, saying :" Ausus sum summo

heroi humile opusculum dicare." The Spanish reformer Dryander

(Enzinas) expressed his admiration for Laski in the most

glowing language. He says amongst others :"

insignes animi

tui dotes quas pene divinas et agnosco et veneror, corporis

majestatem vere heroicam, gravitatem vultus suavitate conjunctam,

religionem illam stupendam ac divinam ; humanissimam morum

Jacilitatem^ liberalium omnium disciplinarum admirandam cogni-

tionem, accuratam linguarum peritiem et copiam beatissimam,

quibus omnibus divinitus donatus es pra cteteribus mortalibus

1541." Vergerius addressed him (1555) in the foliowing manner:"

Qualis sis, scio, quo genere, qud autoritate, qua eruditione, qua

pietate, quantum promoveris multis in locis Evangelium, utinam

venisses ad me, susciperem te, summa non modo hilaritate sed

veneratione." Apud Gabbema.

Laski maintained a learned and friendly intercourse with

many eminent persons of his own as well as foreign countries.

The celebrated Polish physician Struthius, who renewed, the

first amongst the moderns, the theory of pulsation, dedicated

to Laski his translation of Lucian s Astrology, and he ad

dressed to him the following expressions ;" tu es Maecenas

meus, auctor studiorum meorum pr&cipuus, cui non satis visum

erat me benevolente animo complecti, magnificis muneribus reficere;"

apud Janocki.

We could adduce many other evidences of the high esti

mation in which Laski was held by the most eminent of his

time, but we shall only add, that Orzechowski was so strongly

moved by Laski that he said to him :" Vir Dei, tibi porrigo

manus"


CHAPTER VI.

THE PAPAL NUNCIO LIPPOMANI ARRIVES IN POLAND.

ROMAN CATHOLIC SYNOD OF LOVICZ CONVOKED

UNDER HIS AUSPICIES. COMMENDONI AND THE

COUNCIL OF TRENT.

ALTHOUGH the convocation ofa national synod, Demands of

where all the religious parties should be repre-

sented, did not take place, the cause of the Re-formation gained a signal triumph at the Diet of

1556, which enacted a law, by which every noble

could introduce into his house such a mode of

worship as he thought proper, provided it wasbased on the Scriptures. The king sent, in the

name of the same Diet, a letter to Pope Paul the

Fourth at the council of Trent, demanding the

concession of the five following points :

1 . That mass should be performed in the na

tional language.2. The communion of two kinds.

3. The marriage of priests.

4. The abolition of the Annates.

286 SKETCH OF THE

5. The convocation of a national council, for

the reform of abuses and the union of different

sects.*

It may be easily imagined that such bold pro

positions created the greatest alarm at the court

of Rome, whilst its most jealous defenders were

fully aware of the dangerous, and almost des

perate state of the Roman Catholic churchf in

Poland. It had already despatched to that

country in the preceding year (1555) one of its

most devoted tools, the well-known Aloysius

Lippomani,}; in order to save, if possible, the

* Frise s Beytrage zu der Reformation s Geschichte, vol. i.

page 258.

)Hosius requested, in 1557, the king to grant him permission

to leave the country, or indeed to exile him, that he might not

witness the fall of religion in Poland ; and he says in one of his

letters," Pertcesum est, quandoquidem omni humano prcesidio

mdeor esse destitutes."

Epist. 12.

f Lippomani was born about 1500, at Venice, from an

ancient family, and was considered as one of the most learned

Roman Catholic prelates of the sixteenth century. He occupied

successively the episcopal sees of Modon, Verona., and Ber

gamo, and was employed by the Popes on diplomatical

missions, not only in Poland, but also in Germany and Portugal.

He was also one of the presidents of the council of Trent. In

1556 he became secretary to Pope Julius the Third, and died

at Rome in 1559. His principal works are : I. Commentaries in

Latin on Genesis, Exodus, and the Psalms, wherein he displays

more erudition than criticism. 2. Vitce sanctorum. 3. Esposi-

tione sopra il simbolo apostolico, il patre nostro esupra i due

precetti delta carita, 4. Synodial Statutes and Sermons for the

days


Roman Catholic church from its impending ruin Arrival of Lip

in Poland. The Pope despatched at the sametime letters to the king, the senate, and the mostinfluential grandees, promising that he wouldeffect all necessary reforms, and restore the unityofthe church by a general council. The fallacy of

such a promise was ably exposed by Vergerius,*in a letter addressed to the king, by whom he hadbeen called to assist at the Diet of Warsaw in The fallacy of

1556. -A general council," says he will never

days of Saints, fyc. Thuanus says that he was illustrious byhis doctrine as well as by the innocence of his life, consequentlywe may suppose that it was not his personal disposition, but his

character of a Roman legate, which induced him to advocate

sanguinary measures against the enemies of his church.

Maffei, in his Verona Illustrata, devotes an article to Lippo-mani. Vide Biographic Universelle, article Lippomani.

*Vergerius was induced by Albert duke of Brandeburg and

prince Radziwill to visit Poland, in order to promote in that

country the cause of the Reformation. The Pope affirmed, andwe think not unjustly, that the king was privy to this affair.

Hosius wrote to the king that Vergerius,, "non ob aliam causamin regnum tuum veniat quam ut in eo seditionem conflaret.

"

Vergerius wrote a commentary on the letters addressed by the

Pope to Tarnowski and the senate of Poland, full of strong and

fundamental arguments. Vergerius wrote also against Hosius,of whose work he says :

"

prodiitfurentissimus et venenatis-

simus Osii Episcopi Varniensis liber in quo tantum execrabilis

maledicentite, tantum mendaciorum, tantum virulentice, tantum

denique blasphemiarum congestum juerit."For particulars

about Vergerius, vide McCrie s History of the Reformation in

Italy.

288 SKETCH OF THE

the church by a be convoked. The Popes constantly promisedgeneral council,and the dangers such councils, in order to prevent the convocation

country from of national independent synods. Paul the Fourth

his legate, are having heard that Poland intended to reform its

church of itself, had pledged himself that he

would undoubtedly convoke a general synod. He

strengthened his promise with the fisherman s

seal, but has he kept it ? No, he has made a

most infamous lie.* But should even such coun

cil be convoked, it cannot produce any effect.

It will be composed of the Pope, the cardinals,

patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, and abbots;

and should those people, who are accused of

being atheists and epicureans, become the

judges of the church ? Such a council will be

neither real, nor Christian, nor free. In such a

case, all Christians who do not form a part of the

clergy will remain aside; they will have no

influence, and will be reduced to mere obedience.

Poland can expect nothing from such a council.

There has never been a more propitious time for

shaking off the yoke imposed by Rome on the

nations of the world. Never, indeed, have the

states of your majesty s kingdom more unani

mously expressed a desire to effect a reformation

of the church. Some few excepted, all are tired of

popery, and wish to be delivered of its mire."|

*Turpissime mentitus.

f Nunquam enim sacrce majestatis vcstrce rcgnum tanta om

nium ordine consensione ad reformationem ecclesiarum spectavit et

suspiravit


In another part of the same epistle Vergerius

speaks of Lippomani s arrival in the followingmanner :

" A man is now entering your realm

who will destroy your wise and salutary designs;he will prevent a peaceful reformation of the

church, and will disturb the kingdom ;when he

sees that it will be impossible to prevent the

convocation of a general synod, or to enslave it,

he will proclaim in the name of the Pope some

insignificant concessions, in order to preserve the

real and great abuses." The letter which the

Pope wrote to Sigismund Augustus is full of the

most bitter reproaches :" If I am to credit the

reports that reach me," says Paul the Fourth, "1 Letter of the

must feel the most profound grief, and even doubt

of your and your realm s salvation. You favour [

heretics, you assist at their sermons, you listen to

their conversations, and you admit them to yourtants -

company and board; you receive their letters and

write to them. You suffer their works, sanc

tioned with your name, to be read and circulated.

You do not forbid the heretical assemblies, con

venticles, and preachings. Are you not, therefore,

yourself a supporter of the rebels and antagonistsof the Catholic church, because, instead of op

posing, you assist them ? Can there be a greater

suspiravit, dc quo ac mine, panels quibusdam cxceptis, omnes in

summa, rerum papisticarum merilo pertcesi, cupiunt se eximi ex

illius sentinis." Vergerii Epist. ad Serenis Polonise Regcm.

VOL. I. U

290 SKETCH OF THE

proof of your attachment to the heretics, when,

contrary to your oath and to the laws of your

country, you grant the first dignities of the state

to infidels? Indeed you animate, you feed and

spread heresy, by the favours you bestow on

heretics. You have nominated, without waiting*

the confirmation of the apostolical see, the bishop

of Chelm to the bishopric of Cujavia, although

he is infected with the most abominable errors.

The palatine of Vilna, a heretic, the defender

and chief of heresy, is endowed by you with the

first dignities of his country. He is chancellor

of Lithuania, palatine of Vilna, the most intimate

friend of the king, in private and in public, and

may be considered in some measure as the co-

regent of the kingdom and the second monarch. You have abolished the jurisdiction of the

church, and you have allowed, by an enactment

of the Diet, every one to have such preachers

and such worship as he may choose. John

Laski and Vergerius have arrived by your orders

in this country. You have given to the inha

bitants of Elbing and Dantzig an authorization

to abolish the Roman Catholic religion. Should

my admonition against such crimes and scandals

be despised, 1 shall be obliged to make use of

different and more powerful means. You oughtto change your proceedings altogether ; give no

faith to those who wish you and your realm

to revolt against the church, and against true re-


ligion. Execute the ordinances of your most

pious ancestors. Abolish all the innovations

which have been introduced into your kingdom.

Restore to the church its suspended jurisdiction.

Take from the heretics the churches which they

have usurped. Expel the teachers who infect

the country with impunity. What necessity

have you to wait for a general council, when you

possess ready and sufficient means to extirpate

heresy? Should, however, our present admoni

tion remain without effect, we shall be obliged to

make use of those arms, which the apostolical see

never employs in vain against the obstinate

rebels to its authority. God is our witness, that

we have not neglected any means;but as our

letters, embassies, admonitions, and prayers have

been without effect, we shall have recourse to the

utmost severity."*

* Vide Raynaldus ad annum 1556. The Pope wrote to

queen Bona and to all the clergy, exhorting them to save

religion ; (ibid, ad 1555.) The primate and all the bishops

received an order to prevent by all means the next Diet from

enacting any law injurious to the church; (ibid, ad 1556.) RomanCatholic historians constantly accuse Sigismund Augustus of

favouring heretics, so as to occasion the suspicion of the Popeabout his orthodoxy :

"

Effuderat Sigismundus Augustus im-

portuna benignitate ac facilitate, licentice liabenas improbitati

hfzreticorum adeo, ut in suspicionem venit apud Pontificem, ne a

majorum vestigiis ac pietate dcflecteret. (Raynaldus ad an.

1559.) Augustus cum parem patris, nee animum ncc consilium in

tuenda Catkolica religions, hcereticis Jatum adytum patefe.cit.

(Ibid ad annum 1563.)

U 2

292 SKETCH OF THE

Effects of

Lippomani s

intrigues in

Poland.

The Pope s letter gives a good idea of the

state in which Romanism was at that time in

Poland, as well as of the advance which was

made by the Protestants, and of the difficulties

witli which the legate of the apostolical see had

to contend. He had indeed a very arduous mis

sion, and the Polish senate, principally composedof Protestants, hesitated for some time whether

it should allow one who, like Lippomani, came

with the avowed purpose of restoring the ancient

order of religion in Poland, to enter the country.

The king, who did not wish to break off already

with Rome, and who does not seem to have at

tached a great importance to the arrival of the

legate, made no opposition to it. The Equestrian

order was, however, much alarmed at the ap

pearance of Lippomani, and gave an injunction to

many of its representatives at the Diet, that they

should take particular care that the presence of the

legate might not produce any injury to the state.

The arrival of Lippomani was indeed fraught

with important consequences, and prevented a con

ciliatory approximation of the Roman Catholics

with the Protestants. He re-animated the wavering

courage and fainting zeal of the Roman Catho

lic clergy. He increased the vacillations ofthe king,

by the assurance that the apostolical see would con

firm such demands, the indispensability of which

might be proved. His intrigues succeeded in fo

menting discord amongst the Protestants, and by

this considerably weakened their party. He neu-


tralized the activity of those moderate Reformers

who continued to remain in the Roman Catholic

church, expecting that a national synod would re

form its abuses, by assuring them, that a general

council would introduce every necessary reform

into the church, a measure by which many trou

bles and dissensions might be avoided.*

The reception of the legate was not encouraging.

He advised the kins;, at an audience, by what He advises the

king to extir-

means heresy micrht be extirpated from his domi- pate heresy bytreachery and

nions. The monarch represented to the legate Woodshed, andexcites against

that the laws of the country forbade any violence himself a gene-.... . . _ . ral hatred

and persecution: but Lippomam entreated him throughout ail

to seize arbitrarily the leaders of the reformedl

party, and to execute them in a summary manner,

because the Protestants, being deprived of their

heads, would then have been easily exterminated.

This conversation having become public, raised

a violent hatred throughout the country against

the legate, who was attacked by pamphlets and

caricatures, and whose life was even exposed to

danger.!

*Vergerius justly condemned the advocates of those half

measures :" Nonnullos esse qui sibi persuadeant, posse ratio-

nem inveniri, qua et verus Dei cultus, qucm nos urgemus

retineatur et tamen paparum obedientia non excutiatur. Ego

vero affirmo quod toto ccelo errant" Epistola ad Serenissimum

Regem Sigismundum Augustum.

j-The following compositions were published against the

legate :" Christiani Libcris Vcracis carmen in Aloysium Lippo-

manum. Prudenlis Cachinnis epigrammata dc Al. LippomanoVcneto

294 SKETCH OF THE

Some Roman Catholic writers attest, however,

that he obtained from the monarch a decree

against the printers and booksellers of heretical

works. This decree, which had no effect what

ever, and which was granted to the importunities

of the legate, without attaching, as it seems, anyvalue to it, is curious on account of the enumera

tion of the heresies which, according to it, at that

time infested Poland. It mentions Picardians,

Bohemians, Anabaptists, Sacramentarians, and

Augsburgians. It prohibited to print, to sell,

and to import books written against Rome ;but

as it neither restored the jurisdiction of the

ecclesiastical courts, nor invalidated the enact

ment which allowed every noble such Chris

tian worship as he might choose, it had virtually

no effect.*

Vcnelo quod Judeos Sochaczevice ob violatumpanem Eucharistiae

adurijusserit."

Vide infra, the account of this melancholy

event. The nuncios, or deputies of the Equestrian order,

welcomed him, crying, Salve progenies viperarum. Lubie-

nacki, liber ii. cap. 4.

* It was issued at Vilna the 1st March 1556. Friese, vol. i.

page 262, gives the words of that ordinance on the authority

of Lipski s Decad. page 121, as well as on that of the English

Jesuit, Arturus, who wrote a treatise, de Controversiis inter

Ordinem Ecclesiasticum et Sacularem in Polonia." This book is

exceedingly rare, but it was reprinted in some collections of eccle

siastical works. We confess we have great doubts about its truth ;

but if true, Sigismund Augustus must have given it only in

order to get rid of the importunities of the legate, being well

aware that it could not produce any effect.


Lippomani had the mortification to be presentat the Diet of Warsaw, in 1556, where the above-

mentioned law, which granted free exercise of re

ligious worship, was enacted, and he was convin

ced that he was unable to do any thing against the

Protestants. He resolved, therefore, to strenghtenat least the Roman Catholic party, by remov

ing all the misunderstandings and dissensions

which disturbed the discipline of their church

in Poland. It was necessary to rekindle the

slackened zeal of the clergy, to amend their cor

rupted manners, to extirpate many abuses, and

reinvigorate its relaxed discipline. To effect Roman cati.o-

this object Lippomani and the archbishop

Dzierzgowski convoked a synod at Lowicz in

the month of September 1556. The attention

of the whole country was soon drawn to that

synod, and many persons expected that the clergywould of themselves introduce the necessaryreforms. These hopes were not without some

foundation, because there were even amongstthe bishops some eloquent advocates of a reform.

Indeed, the Polish church clearly saw its defects

and its dangerous condition. These hopes mightperhaps have been realized without the presenceof the legate, because, if the synod could act in an

independent manner, it would have been probably influenced by the general bent of the national opinion. An additional proof that such a

supposition is not without some foundation, was

296 SKETCH OF THE

the spirit of independence which the above-men

tioned synod of Lowicz manifested at the opening

of its meetings.

The synod was composed of the bishops of

Cracow, Posnania, Plotzk, Przemysl, and Ca-

mieniec, who came themselves. The bishop of

Chelm, on account of his illness, and the arch

bishop of Leopol, on account of his great age,

sent deputies ;the bishops of Lithuania did the

same.* Besides the bishops every chapter dele

gated two canons to the same synod. It seems,

however, that the Roman Catholic clergy them

selves did not attach any great value to that

convocation, as the archbishop was obliged to

compel their attendance, by threatening those

who would not appear, by mulcts, and by report

ing their names to the Roman see. The first

meetings of the synod wrere marked by conside

rable dissensions between the higher and the

it makes a lower clergy, and by the jealousy which thatshow of mde- & J J

assembly manifested against the Roman legate.which is, however, soon over- It was resolved that the legate should have nocome by the

intrigues of voice at the deliberations of the synod, and thatLippomani.

he should not even be permitted to assist as a

silent witness at its debates, but that he was only

to receive a detailed account of the proceedings

*Vergerius says, that the synod of Lowicz was composed

of fifteen bishops, but he gives not their names ; vide Epist. ad

Sigismundum Augustum,


of every meeting. The legate rejected such a

resolution, as being contrary to the laws, and

without precedent. He encountered, however, a

very strong opposition, and would certainly have

been excluded from the deliberations of the

synod, if he had not taken advantage of the

dissensions which prevailed between the higher

and the lower clergy. He proposed to act as

umpire between the two parties, by which he

necessarily obtained a voice at the deliberations of

the synod ;in this manner, he not only removed

the opposition to his presence, but he soon

acquired a complete influence over that assembly,

which disappointed all the hopes of the reform

which its show of independence had given for

some time to many people. The synod being now

entirely under the influence of Rome, enacted

some regulations entirely conformable to the in

terests of Rome, and productive of no real reform.*

The most remarkable transactions of that

assembly are the observations made by it on

the state of the Roman Catholic church in

Poland, and on the causes which had disturbed

its peace. Although written strictly in a Roman

Catholic sense, it expresses with a great spirit

* The synod enacted thirty-nine regulations, which were

published byVergerius, and dedicated to Bonar, castellan of

Biecz, December 1556. The book is exceedingly rare.

298 SKETCH OF THE

Remarkable

this synod

oftheR?

corruption!

8

of liberty, and without any attempt at conceal

ment, the faults of the Polish clergy, as well as

those of the Roman see.

" The beginning of the troubles,"says the synod,

"has been caused by the carelessness of the paro-

chial as well as of the higher clergy; but the apos-

tolical see has also committed many errors : it has

neglected the dangers, and remained indifferent

to them. It did not send ambassadors to the

king, in order to obtain from him the execution

of the laws against the innovators. It has longtime delayed the convocation of a general council.

It has granted to the monarchs extensive privi

leges, contrary to the interests of the church, and

rendered them more daring (insolentiores) ; a

bad distribution of the dignities has done the

greatest harm to the clergy. The inactivity and

supineness of the bishops have greatly increased

the troubles of the church, and produced the

greatest injury to the clergy. Although endowedwith great authority in religious and political

affairs, they knew not how to fulfil the duties of

either in a worthy manner, but have entirely neglected them. They have oppressed their subjectsin a cruel manner, they ordered them to work even

on holidays, surpassing even the nobles in their

oppression of the peasants.* The bishops have

* " Duras cxactioncs et dcputationcs ; dominicis acfcstis diebus

cos laborare cogendo et haud parum illis viddur, tit nobilibus

Me


not watched the progress of the usurpations of the

royal power, but, on the contrary, they favoured

it, in order to get preferment.* Being often

transferred from one bishopric to another, they

were often unacquainted with the sees of their

dioceses. They acted with great leniency towards

the promoters of heresy, and even received them

in their own palaces with great kindness, and

instead of punishing, they secretly defended

them. They have not even refused their hos

pitality to excommunicated persons. They wil

lingly consented to suspend the excommunications,

and would be glad to see them entirely abolished.

They have greatly injured, by all this, the autho

rity of the Pope and the rights of the church.

They have never employed any real severity, and

one of them has publicly said in the assembly

of the nobles, Let people believe what they

like, provided I receive my income. t Such con

duct of the bishops has produced adequate re

sults. The revenues of the church have been

seized; the priests have been driven from the

churches, which are given to preachers of heresy;

hdc in re pares sint, nunc ctiam superant Wos multis nominibus."

Vide Mansi.

* " Ascensiones in corde meditantur semper, sed non in montem

Dei" Mansi.

fl( Crcdat quisque, ut velit, modo rcditus mei integri sint."

Mansi.

300 SKETCH OF THE

Christian ministry is no longer entrusted to learn

ing and virtue, but to such as have connexions,

and are sometimes mere youths, or almost child

ren, and who will not even endue the garment of

the priest.* We must not conceal our own faults.

The regular and secular clergy are infected with

the utmost profligacy of manners. They are ad

dicted to luxury, avarice, debauchery, idleneSvS,

carelessness; and, what is worse, the priests have

no knowledge of the law of God.f

* " Nee vestiuntur habitu clericorum." Mansi, ibid.

f Stanislav Kossobudzki, a zealous but conscientious Roman

Catholic, who called the Protestants brigands and robbers of

the church, speaks, in a letter addressed to Karnkowski, primate

of Poland, 1st December 1572, of the Roman Catholic clergy

of Poland in the following manner :" Mirari plerumque mihi

subit, non admodum prudentem aliquorum persuasionem, qui

dissensiones religionisferro ac flamma cohiberi, certe posse existi-

mant : cum citius humanam naturam dissolvere, quam ingenitum

religionis amorem ex animis hominum evellere possintnunquam

deploratas atque perditas res esse ecclesice, atque nunc suntfal-

catur necesse est : cur omnia moventes nihil provehetis ? In hu-

manis tantum coiifidetis prcesidiis. Quomodo Christus doctrinam

patris ccelestis propagavit ? nostis : non ille armato stipatus

exercitu ; non auro non gemmis splendens apparuit, sed pauper

in pauperi tigurio natus, totum terrarum orbem suce subjecit

potestati. Nemini vim intulit, neminem coegit ut sequeretur. Fun-

damenta Ecclesics prcesul amplissime^ verbum Dei, bona opera,

orationes" He further describes the instruction which the

Roman Catholic clergy gave to the people in their sermons :

" Aniles magisfabulas quam verbum Dcipradicarint,pudicitiam,

dcvotionem cceterasque virtutes a domo Dei cxulasse. Inane

./idei nomen relictum declinavimus viam dominisy sequlmur volun-

fa/ex


"Since the destruction of our authority the old

hatred of the nobles against our order is awa

kened. The nobles join heresy in crowds, in

order to seize the property of the church. Reli

gious innovation is much increased by the favour

of the king, who grants the dignities of the state

equally to heretics and Christians. He permits

foreign academies, which are the known hod-bets

of heresy, to be frequented by Polish students.

He permits also every kind of book to be printed."

After having described the state of the RomanCatholic religion in Poland, the synod suggested

the following means for restoring the authority

of the church, and for exterminating heresy :

" There ought always to be a nuncio of the apostolical see at the court of the king, in order to

prevent the monarch from supporting heresy, and

from granting liberties and privileges contrary

to the interests of the church. The nomination

of the bishops should be restored to the chapters.

The dignities of the church should be entrusted

to persons capable of fulfilling their duties; but

above all, it is necessary to enforce a proper and

Catholic reform of the manners of the clergy, and

tales nostras ; ejicimus justitiam, operamur iniquitatem ut vi-

dentes homines opera vcstra bona ct doctrines conscientiam, Deumessc in vobis pronunciare possint dcpravatissimos mores corrigen-

dos." He concludes his letter by saying :" diocesis tua heereti-

corum commuui lobe abundct," (vide Sirinium Antiquarium vol.

v.p. 312, 376.)

302 SKETCH OF THE

of the different abuses to which it is now sub

ject.* The bishops must expel the heretics from

their courts, and never receive them.f Theymust visit the libraries, and prohibit the printers

from publishing heretical works." The nobles should be restricted by severe

penalties from circulating heretical books. It is

necessary to obtain from the king that he should,

at least for the future, restrain all those incon

ceivable impieties ; that he should prohibit here

tical meetings, which constantly take place every

where; that he should defend the churches from

being taken by heretics, and the possessions of

the clergy from being robbed by them;that he

should clean his court from heresy, and grant no

favour to heretics;but if the king should refuse to

comply with these proposals, the bishops oughtto leave the senate, and take no part in the deli

berations of the affairs of the state. It is also

necessary to request the Pope to admonish the

king, and adopt such measures as are generallytaken against those who have abandoned the

church. It is necessary to renew the ordinance

* " Catholica et Modesta pro temporibus congruensjiat refor-

matio inter ecclesiasticas personas morum et abusuum, neminem

csse, qui non videat clerum reformatione in vita, moribus, ac tola

suo statuegere."

Mansi.

f" Ex curiis suis pellant hereticos ;" ibid. There have been,

indeed, very many instances in Poland of Roman Catholic

bishops maintaining a friendly intercourse with Protestants.


which prohibited Polish students from frequent

ing foreign schools. The bishops ought to be

always present at the elections of the nobles, and

endeavour to prevent all but good Roman Catho

lics from being returned as nuncios to the Diet."

Finally, the synod expressed a wish that a

general council, convoked in an independent

place (in loco libero), should pacify the dissen

sions which agitated the church, by introducing

into it the necessary reforms.

Although this synod produced no consequences

whatever, neither enacted any positive laws, it is

very remarkable, by the bold manner in which it

denounced the evils which afflicted the church,

and expressed the necessity of reforming them;

and it may be supposed that, had its delibe

rations been carried on in an independent

manner, and free from the influence of the legate,

it would have effected some very salutary reforms ;

and even perhaps, if it had followed the deve

lopment of an independent spirit, which seemed

to have for some time animated its members,it would have shaken off the Papal domination

from the church of Poland.

The synod, or rather the legate who directed The synod fails

all its proceedings, tried on that occasion to asserta"

the rights of the ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Asthe decrees of the ecclesiastical courts did no

longer affect the nobles, they chose for their

victim one of their refractory priests. Stanislav

304 SKETCH OF THE

Lutomirski, canon of Przemysl and rector of

Konin, was cited on a suspicion of heresy. This

summons was regularly attended by Lutomirski,

who took advantage of it, as being a fit oppor

tunity for publicly declaring his Protestant opi

nions. He arrived with a large number of

influential friends, each of whom was providedwith a bible, as the most efficient arms against

Romanism. The synod did not dare to openthe prosecution against such a bold antagonist of

the Roman church, and the doors of the hall

where he was to be tried were closed to the

accused and his friends.*

judicial murder Having failed to assert its jurisdiction in a case

of heresy, the synod tried it with a lamentable

sliccess *n that of a sacrilege. In order to have

a better chance of attaining their object, the

clergy chose now their victim amongst the in

ferior classes of society. Dorothy Lazecka, a

poor girl, was accused of having obtained from

the Dominicans ofSochaczewf a host, feigning to

receive communion. It was said that she wrappedthat host in her clothes, and sold it afterwards

to the Jews of a neighbouring village for three

dollars and a gown embroidered with silk. This

host was said to have been carried by the Jews to

*Friese, vol. i. page 264.

f A little town between Lowicz and Warsaw, thirty- eight

English miles from that capital.


the synagogue, where being pierced with needles,it emitted a quantity of blood, which was col

lected into a flask and preserved for some reli

gious rites. Notwithstanding the absurdity of

this accusation, the legate seized that occurrence,which according to Roman Catholic authors most

opportunely happened,* in order to prove by a

miracle the reality of the transubstantiation, andthat the communion of two kinds was quite

unnecessary, as the host contained the blood as

well as the body of Christ.| The Jews tried in

vain to prove the absurdity of the charge, ar

guing, that as their religion permitted them not

to believe the mystery of the transubstantiation,

they could never be supposed to try a similar

experiment on the host, which they considered

as a mere wafer. The synod, influenced by Lip-

pomani, condemned them, as well as the unfortunate woman, to be burnt alive. This ini

quitous sentence could not, however, be put into

execution without the exequatur of the king,

* " Commode accidit," says Starowolski in his Epitomes Si/no-

dorum ;" Commodissime illud eo tempore in Polonia accidit."

Raynaldus ad annum 1556. These confessions of Romanist

writers speak volumes.

t The following evidence on this subject is given by a zealous

Roman Catholic writer. "

Effecit Lippomanus ut de sacrilega

puella et judeis supplicium sumcrctur, ctqiici stio a laicis propo-

sita de usu calicis divino miraculodeftidicaretur."

Starowolski

Epitomae Synodor.

VOL. T. X

306 SKETCH OF THE

which could not be expected to be obtained from

the enlightened Sigismund Augustus. The

bishop of Chelm, Przerembski, who was at the

same time vice-chancellor of Poland, made a

report to the king of the above-mentioned case,

which he described in expressions of a pious

horror, and entreated the monarch not to allow

that such a crime committed against the divine

majesty should go unpunished. Myszkowski, a

grand dignitary of the crown, who was a Pro

testant, became so indignant at this report that

he could not restrain his anger, and was only

prevented by the presence of the king from

using violence against the prelate,* the impiety

and absurdity of whose accusation he exposed

in strong language. The monarch declared that

he would not believe such absurdities, and sent

an order to the starost of Sochaczew to release

the accused party ;but the vice-chancellor

forged the exequatur, by attaching the royal

seal without the knowledge of the monarch, and

sent an order that the sentence of this synod

*Myszkowski said to Przerembski on that occasion :

<c

Ego

nequicquam Deum irrideo, sed vestras calumnias, fabulas ac

nuncia vanitatis plena, qua spargistis et ad aures regis defertis,

nee divinam nee regiam majestatem rcverentes et ad omnem

fraudem, exuto non tandem Dei metu sed et pudorc projccto.

Deum ego metuo et vereor ct quis sit scio, ac certus sumy cum

est spiritus, ac nullibus sensibus attingi posset tantominus artibus

vel manibus configi posse."Lubieniecki.


should be immediately carried into execution.

The king was informed of the forgery, and he

instantly despatched a messenger to prevent its

effects. It was however too late, and the act,

to stigmatize which we have no adequate ex-

pression, was perpetrated before the arrival of

the royal message.This atrocity filled all Poland with horror, and

the hatred which the legate had already inspired

became still more increased. It also consi

derably strengthened the anti-Romanist feeling

amongst the nation, by showing what the countryhad to expect if the Roman Catholic party were

to crush its antagonists. Lippomani having nowbecome the object of a general hatred, left the

country, followed by the national execration.

We must not omit mentioning the attempt correspon-

which was made by the legate at converting the Lippomani and

leader of the Protestant party, prince Nicholaus

Radziwill, who by his intimate friendship with

the monarch, his high station and riches, was the

most influential grandee of his time in Poland.

He addressed to him a letter in which he feigned

to disbelieve his heresy, although Radziwill

openly professed the reformed religion. After

having quoted many reports of Radziwill s he

resy, he asked him whether he was to believe them

to be true, " The public rumour," says he,"

expresses that the palatine of Vilna patronizes

all heresies, and that all the dangerous innovators

x 2

308 SKETCH OF THE

are gathering under his protection ;that he erects,

wherever his influence reaches, sacrilegious altars

against the altar of God, and that he establishes

pulpits of falsehood against the pulpits of truth."

He reproached him further for introducing the

communion of two kinds, abolishing the worship

of the saints and the prayers for the dead, and

concluded, after having enumerated many similar

accusations, with the compliment, that if Radzi-

will had only abandoned heresy and returned

into the pale of the Roman church, he would

have been the most perfect of men, as he was

possessed of every quality and virtue, and was

deficient only in true religion. Radziwill replied

to that letter in an epistle couched in rather vio

lent language, answering each of his objections

by arguments intermingled with severe animad

versions against the Roman church.*

* This remarkable correspondence was published at Konigs-

berg in 1556, with a long preface by P. P. Vergerius, under the

title" Duce Epistolce altera Aloysn Lippomani Veneti, Episcop.

Veronce, Romani Pontificis in Polonia Legati, ad Illustrissimum

Principcm D. Nicolaum Radzivilium, Palatinum Vilnensem.

Altera vero ejusdem Illustrissimi D. Radzivili ad Episcopum et

Legatum ilium, lectu dignissinuz, si ullce fuerunt nostra cetate"

Tlie answer of Radziwill was written by the same Vergerius.

Radziwill (Nicholas the IVth of that name), grand chan

cellor and grand general of Lithuania, and palatine of Vilna,

was a very remarkable man. He travelled in his youth into

most parts of Europe, and was so skilful in bodily exercises,

that he surpassed in this respect all the gentlemen of his time.

He

REFORMATION IN TOLAND. 309

The synod of Lowicz, instead of restoring the

cause of Romanism, rather injured it. It mani

fested the weakness of the Roman clergy, and

He was brother to Barbara, the first queen of Sigismund Augustus, and possessed the unlimited confidence of that monarch.

He distinguished himself in many wars, but particularly

against the German knights of Livonia. When he was sent

ambassador to Charles the Vth and Ferdinand king of the

Romans, he stood godfather to the archdukeErnest. The uncom

promising zeal with which he advocated the cause of the Refor

mation, is evident from the strong language he made use of,

in his dedication to Sigismund Augustus of the first Protestant

Bible published at his expense at Brest in Lithuania, in 1563,

where he says amongst others :

" But if your majesty (which

may God avert), continuing to be deluded by this world, un

mindful of its vanity, and fearing still some hypocrisy, will

persevere in that error which according to the prophecy of

Daniel, that impudent priest, the idol of the Roman temple,the now manifest disturber of Christian peace and sower of

tares, had made abundantly grow in his infected vineyard,like a true and real antichrist; if your majesty will follow to

the end that blind chief of a generation of vipers, and lead us

the faithful people of God the same way, it is to be feared that

the Lord might, for such a rejection of his truth, condemnus all with your majesty to shame, humiliation, and destruc

tion, and afterwards to an eternal perdition." His lady, Eli

zabeth Szydlowiecki, zealously assisted his pious efforts to

spread the pure word of God. He died in 1567, and wasborne to the grave by his four sons. Thuanus says that theyall turned Roman Catholics; (vide Thuan, lib. xxxviii.) Oneof them, Nicholaus, became celebrated by his pilgrimage to

the Holy Land, a description of which was published. He

purchased all the copies he could get of his father s Bible, and

burnt them publicly in the market-place of Vilna. Georgeentered

310 SKETCH OF THE

gave, by the execution of the Jews and of the

unfortunate woman Lazecka, a proof of what

would have been their proceedings if they had

entered the church, and became a cardinal. Albert and Stani-

slav occupied eminent situations in their country. His cousin,

Christopher Radziwill, likewise embraced the Protestant reli

gion, and the motives which induced him to take that step

deserve a particular notice. It is said that, being extremely

sorry that his relative had abandoned the Roman church, he

went to Rome, and paid all imaginable honours to the Pope,

who acknowledged his fidelity by the present of a box filled

with relics. When he returned to his country, the fame of

these relics spread abroad, and some friars came and told him

that a man was possessed by the devil who had been exorcised

to no purpose ; they therefore besought him, for the sake of

that unhappy wretch, to lend them the precious relics which

he had brought from Rome. This was readily granted, and

the relics were carried to church by a solemn procession. Theywere deposited on the altar, and on the appointed day the

experiment was made in the presence of a large multitude.

It succeeded perfectly well ; and as soon as the relics were

applied, the evil spirit left the body of the man with the usual

postures and grimaces. Every one cried out," a miracle !

"

and

Radziwill lifted up his hands and eyes to heaven, to return

thanks for his having brought so holy a thing, which performedsuch miracles. But some days afterwards, when he was in

that admiration and transport of joy, and was bestowing the

greatest eulogiums on the virtue of those relics, he observed

that a young gentleman of his household who had the keepingof that treasure began to smile and make certain gestures,

which shewed that he was laughing at his words. Radziwill

flew into a passion, and would know the reason of his derision.

A promise being made to this gentleman that no harm should

be done to him, he declared that on their return from Romehe


regained the upper-hand in Poland. The Protestant party grew every day bolder, and at the

Diet of Piotrkow in 1559, an attempt was made

he had lost the box with the relics entrusted to his care, and

that, for fear of being punished for his neglect, he had gotanother box similar to that which had been lost, and filled it

with little bones of some animals ; and that therefore he could

not help laughing, seeing the virtues ascribed to it. Radziwill,

wishing to ascertain the reality of that imposture, sent for the

monks, and desired them to inquire whether there were no

more demoniacs who wanted the assistance of his relics. After

a few days they brought him another man possessed by the

evil spirit, who made extraordinary contortions. Radziwill

ordered them to perform in his presence the ordinary exor

cisms ; but which having proved ineffectual, he sent away the

monks, and ordered the demoniac to remain in his house.

When the priests were gone, Radziwill put the demoniac into

the hands of his Tartar grooms, who exhorted him to confess

the imposture ; but when he persisted in making his furious

gestures, they imposed on him a severe castigation with rods

and scourges ; the wretch confessed his imposture, and that

he never was possessed, but only forced by the monks to play

such a part. Radziwill sent for the monks, who at first im

plored him not to believe the man s confession, because it was

the devil who spoke by his mouth; but Radziwill answered,

that if his Tartars were able to make the devil speak the truth,

they would be able to extort it from the friars. The monks

were forced to confess their imposture, but excused themselves

by pretending that they had done all this with a good intention,

and in order to check the progress of heresy. These pious

frauds raised great doubts in Radzi will s mind about the truth

of a religion defended by such means, and he began to study

the scriptures. After six months spent in reading and prayer,

he

312 SKETCH OF THE

to deprive the bishops of the senatorial dignities,

on account of their oath of fidelity to the Pope,which was necessarily in direct opposition to

their duty to their country. Ossolinski, who made

this motion, read publicly the formula of the

above-mentioned oath, explaining its dangerous

tendency to the interests of the country, and

concluded by saying, that if the bishops fulfilled

the obligations to which they were bound by that

oath, they were traitors and not guardians of the

state.f

The convoca- The motion was not carried, probably because

tlonafsynoda general reform of the church was soon expected

the

V

intrfg

dueJof to take place, It was in order to accelerate such

Se^teof"

1 a reform>

that tne Diet of 1563 Passed a resolution

the rope. t jiat a generai Synod representing all the religious

parties should be convoked. Its convocation, al

though much favoured by the archbishop TJchan-

ski, was however prevented by the legate of the

he publicly embraced tlie Protestant religion, with all his family.

(Vide Bayle, art. Radziwill.) Regenvolscius, or Wengierski.,

gives to that Radziwill who was induced to become Protestant

by detecting a fraud of the Roman Catholics., the name of

Nicholaus. He was distinguished by the surname of Rufus,

and his descendants persevered in the Protestant communion, till

the last of them, Louisa princess palatine of Neubourg, turned

Roman Catholic towards the end of the seventeenth century.

The family of Radziwill was invested with the title of princes

of the Roman empire in 1518.

f"

Episcopi sunt non custodes scd proditorcs reipublictc."


Pope, Commendoni,* who succeeded by his ma-

*Gratiani, the biographer of Commendoni, gives the follow

ing account of this affair: " The chiefs of the heretics, who

were the first noblemen of the country, being powerful by

themselves, and having great influence at the court and

amongst the nation, sought the more to strengthen their party,

as they saw that Commendoni was acting strongly for the

Roman Catholics. They directed all their efforts in order to

convoke a national council, where they might determine the

religious affairs according to the customs and interests of the

state, and without theparticipation of the Pope ; "(amost impor

tant confession of a zealous Romanist, that the interests of the

state are contrary to those of the Pope). "Theyhad at their

disposal an archbishop (Uchanski), who by his dignity was

equally influential in the senate as well as amongst the clergy,

and whose hopes they flattered with their promises. Uchanski

had also much at heart the same project, for reasons which we

have already stated;" (he expected to be the hea dofan indepen

dent Polish church ; vide the same work, page 186) ;te and it

occupied his thoughts day and night ; he had secret conferences

on that subject with an intimate friend of his, who was of a

low origin, but who had made himself known by his invectives

against the Roman Catholic church, against which he had

written several volumes. Commendoni discovered the designs

and intrigues of Uchanski and the heretics ; and as he applied

himself to destroy all their measures, he resolved to dissimulate

all that he had learned about it, because he did not think pro

per to irritate, in that state of affairs, a man who was of great

importance by his riches, his dignity, and his connexions with

the adversaries, and who would have openly declared for them

if he had thought that his designs were discovered. He was

the more to be feared, as the king was very much inclined to

assemble the clergy according to the impressions which were

given to him, and which it was difficult to take aw.iy from his

mind.

3J4 SKETCH OF THE

chinations to delay it, but perhaps even more bythe dissensions which agitated the Protestant

mind. Commendoni employed for that purpose all his dili

gence and dexterit}r, and he frequently admonished the monarch

that the public peace and his own authority was in danger ;

that all the rights that he should concede to the heretics, and to

the blind and seditious mob, would be followed by the loss

of as many rights belonging to himself. That if, with all the

power of laws and witfr all the ordinances and precedents, it was

almost impossible to restrain them, what dangers might not

arise if an appearance of justice should be given to their bad

intentions? That two years ago the king of France, who was

then still a child, was induced by the weakness of his mother,

and by the insincere advice of his ministers, to show the same

condescension, and assisted himself with the queen at the collo

quium of Poissy, as if he had been the arbiter of the differences

and controversies of the church. That this assembly was the

source of great divisions, and became a trumpet which had

excited the minds of the people to the revolt; that this disputation contributed only to the increase of the violence and fury of

the civil wars."

By this advice he dissuaded the king from the project of

assembling a national synod. This prince loved tranquillity,

and feared nothing so much as disturbances and revolts in his

states : therefore, when the matter was brought forward in the

senate, he interrupted the proposition, and protested that it was

not for him to decide any thing in ecclesiastical matters. Manybishops and senators defended, on that occasion, the cause of

religion with great zeal. Stanislav Wolski, castellan of Rava,

strenuously maintained that it did not belong to the particular

assemblies of one nation to decide about the duties of a religion,

and to determine the rules of Christian piety, on which de

pended- the salvation of all Christians; that these matters

should be settled according to the ancient canons by general

councils j


party, and which produced great harm to the

cause of the Reformation.*

During the above-mentioned attempts in Po-

councils ; and he concluded by addressing the monarch in the

following words :" For my part, sire, I most heartily acknow

ledge you as my sovereign, but at the same time I unhesita

tingly declare, that I will never acknowledge you as my Pope."

Uchanski dared not to act openly in favour of the heretics, and

Commendoni maintained him in his duty to the Pope by his

exhortations, and by opposing to him other bishops who resist

ed him. This archbishop gave sometimes, in the senate, very

salutary advice, and feigned from time to time to have quarrels

with the heretics in order to conceal the better his real senti

ments, and to make show of an apparent zeal for the church,

which caused the heretics to begin to suspect him. Commendoni

entertained secretly these suspicions, and availed himself with

great prudence of all these circumstances. (Vide Life of Com

mendoni by Gratiani, French translation, page 213 and fol

lowing.)" Permulti hereticorum fautores summa moliebantur

ope, ut consilium gentis quod nationale vocant, cogeretur, in quo,

sine ulla authoritate pontificis maximi de universa religione prout

ex ipsorum usu et Rcpublica visum esset, constitueret." Raynal-

dus ad aim. 1563.

* Albert Laski, nephew of the reformer, turned Roman

Catholic in 1569, and gave as the chief reason of his change

of religion, the dissensions amongst the Protestants ; it seems

however, that love was the real motive of his apostasy. The

same unfortunate dissensions, and principally the anti-Trini

tarian doctrines, which began to spread at that time, induced

many influential persons to return into the pale of the Ro

man Catholic church; such were John Chodkiewicz, starost

of Samogitia ; Andreas Zborowski, Abraham Zbonski, des

cendant of the Hussite leader of that name, (vide page 81),

and severed others.

31G SKETCH OF THE

Poland takes

110 part in the

council of

Trent, and

opposes its

enactments.

land to reform its church by a national synod,

the council of Trent was concluding its labours.

It is well known that, although it usurped the

name of an 02cumenic or universal council, it

represented only the strict Roman Catholic party;

and that the attempts which were made by a

few individuals to propose some real reforms had

no chance of success against the preponderantinfluence of Rome.* We have already mentioned

the legation which was intended to have been

sent from Poland to that council, but which was

prevented by circumstances from taking place.f

It may be said that the council of Trent remain

ed entirely foreign to Poland, because even the

Roman Catholic party of that country was not

represented there;

the Polish bishops being too

much occupied in defending their dioceses from

the growing attacks of Protestantism, dared not

leave them, and demanded the authorization of

giving their votes at the council by proxy. This

demand was, however, refused by the Pope: who

had indeed good reasons for denying it, because

had he authorized the bishops to give their votes

by proxy, those belonging to different nations

would have obtained a great majority over the

*As, for instance, Dudithius, or Dudycz, of whom we shall

speak hereafter,, defended the communion of two kinds ; the

Bavarian ambassador demanded the marriage of priests.

f Vide page 21 8.


Roman and other Italian prelates who were

present at the council a circumstance which

might expose the Roman see to consequencessimilar to those it had experienced from the

councils of Constance and Basil, and which it

carefully sought to avoid. The absence of Polish prelates at the council made the Romancourt uneasy, and it obtained from the king, that

he sent Herburt, bishop of Przemysl, as his

ambassador to the council, who extolled, at one

of its meetings, the piety and orthodoxy of his

monarch in the most glowing terms.*

He was, however, only the ambassador of the

king himself, and he did by no means representthe Diet, which should have given its authoriza

tion for so important an object; and the learned

* eePietatis, tanto quantus csse maximus potest, lucet splcndorc.

Quantum c.vstat ejus studium in vcra religione augenda, dila-

tanda ? Quanta studio contendat et claboret, ut licec lues letra

qua nostro sceculo plcrasque provincias Europece pcrvagata est, eo

minusfunditius evclli saltern reprimi et sapiri queat."Labbeus.

Herburt had evidently much more at heart to maintain the

honour of" the orthodoxy of his monarch, than was consistent

with truth. Hosius, who was one of the presidents of the

council of Trent, had quite a different opinion on this subject,

as he wrote about Sigismund Augustus what follows: " Scio

quodfcrt, Regiamajcstas, non solurn Lutheristas et confcssionis

las, vcrum et Calvinistas, ct Anabaplistas et Trideistas et omnem

hcercticorumfecem, volcnte Regia majestate, nostros homines, non

ita procul ab Mahomctana pcifidia abcsse." Hosii Epistolae

1G7, aim. 1572.

318 SKETCH OF THE

historian of the council of Trent justly observes,

that Poland was not represented at that as

sembly.*The statutes of the council of Trent were

brought to Poland by cardinal Commendoni,

who tried to make them accepted at the Diet of

Parczow in 1564. He addressed the king in

the assembled senate in a long speech, praising

the Roman Catholic religion and the council

of Trent, and deprecating religious innovation.

The archbishop Uchanski advised, in a speech

in which he paid great compliments to the Popeand the fathers of the council, to accept politely

the book offered by the Roman legate, without

giving any positive answer, until the king should

have read it and examined it with his council.

An animated discussion ensued, and the debates

were interrupted without coming to any conclu

sion;but the chancellor informed the legate that

the king personally received the above-mentioned

statutes, and that he would submit to their pro-

* Herburt confessed it himself in the above-mentioned

speech, saying :

" Tencre non potuit qidn hoc oratorem suum non

expectato, ea de re comitiali decreto delegaret in vcteri more ac

institute regni hoc positum sit, ut de deccrnendis mittcndisque

legationibns in comitiis regni suspiciatur deliberatio, utique nisi

comitiali decreto intercedente orator regie majestatis hue erat

mittendus" Labbeus, xiv. 19. This perfectly contradicts the

statement of Hosius,, who says that Herburt "

Regis et Regni

personam in eo loco sustinuit," Vide his Opera, p. 697.


visions. The senate, however,* never passed a

similar resolution, and it was not even presentedto the Chamber of Nuncios. The statutes of the

council of Trent were received by the Polish

Roman Catholic clergy, with some limitations, in

the same year 1564; but in 1578, the same

clergy unconditionally submitted to it, at a synodconvened at Piotrkow. It was, however, never

accepted by the Diet, notwithstanding the at

tempts which were made to that effect under

the reigns of Sigismund the Third and John

Sobieski, although Romanism had then already

gained a complete ascendancy over the Protes

tants.

* Vide Vie cle Commendoni," pp. 234, 353. The state

ment of Mosheim, who says, page 145, vol. iv. English transla

tion," that Poland implicitly received the decrees of the coun

cil of Trent," is quite incorrect.

CHAPTER VII.

CONTINUATION OF THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN PRO

TESTANTISM AND ROMANISM, AND FURTHER IN

CREASE OF REFORMATION IN THE VARIOUS PRO

VINCES OF POLAND.

Roman Catho- THE Roman Catholic clergy clearly saw the

Kotrkow. rapid and universal decline of their influence,

and the synod which they convened at Piotrkow

rendered such a position still more manifest. It

acknowledged itself the supineness of its members,

by exacting their presence at future synods by

pecuniary fines imposed on those who should

absent themselves. * It prohibited, that any

books having a tendency towards the new doc

trines should be read in the schools, but recom

mended some productions of antiquity, preferring

paganism to heresy. It passed also a resolution

that the king should be requested to issue an

* The archbishop was to pay, for his absence, a fine of one

hundred marks, and a bishop fifty.


ordinance prohibiting the booksellers from circu

lating heretical works. The same clergy hadextorted by their importunities from the monarchsome ordinances respecting the religious innova

tions, but which were rather admonitions than

decrees, as they condemned heresy without

enacting any penalties against it. The mostremarkable enactment concerning religious matters was that which was issued by the Diet of

Parczow in 1504, and which originated from the

united efforts of opposite parties. It was aboutthat time that the anti-Trinitarian doctrines beganto be broached by the so-called Minor Churchor Anabaptists of Pinczow. They supported the

dogma of the supremacy of the Father over the

Son, preparing a complete denial of the divinityof Jesus Christ. These doctrines excited the

just animadversion of all the religious parties;and the three Protestant churches in Poland the

Helvetian, the Lutheran, and the Bohemian whomeditated a union amongst themselves, disclaimed

every community with the Pinczowians. Com-mendoni and Hosius tried to take advantage of

this opportunity, and presented to the king the

project of a law exiling from Poland all priestswho had not been confirmed by the RomanCatholic authority ;

but when they saw the im

possibility of passing such a law, they demandedof the king that he should order the expulsionof all foreign Protestant ministers. Thev were.-5

VOL. I.

322 SKETCH OF THE

no more successful in this demand, and the in

fluence of the archbishop Uchanski, united with

that of some senators belonging to the Helvetian

and the Bohemian churches, exacted an ordi

nance on the 17th of August, by which all the

foreign ministers denying the mystery of the

Trinity, were compelled to quit the country in

three days after Michaelmas. Although this

ordinance related solely to those who professed

anti-Trinitarian doctrines, Hosius tried to con-

Fruitless at- vert it into a measure against the Bohemian

Brethren, considering them as foreigners, and

consequently subject to the provisions of theBrethren, aboye.mentioned ordinance, although they were

very far from impugning the dogma of the Trinity.

Kosielecki, general or first magistrate of Grand

Poland, a zealous Roman Catholic, was prevailed

on by Hosius to make such a false application of

the above-mentioned decree, and he had already

begun to take some measures to compel them to

leave the country. But James Ostrorog, pala

tine of Inowroclav, Raphael Leszczynski, whose

bold manifestations of Protestant opinions wehave already mentioned, and Laurentius, bishop

of the Bohemian community, represented to the

king the reason why the above-mentioned ordi

nance was not applicable to them, and presented

to him an apology of their creed. The king

received in a favourable manner their representa

tions, and declaring that their confession was not


contrary to real Christianity, issued an ordinance

on the 2d of November 1564, by which he prohibited the persecution of foreigners professingthe Bohemian creed. Such consequences of the

above-mentioned decree did not at all satisfy

Hosius, who bitterly reproached the primateUchanski for having supported a decree which

exclusively condemned the anti-Trinitarians with

out touching the other heretics. He maintained

that it was necessary to persecute and to eradicate

all the heretics, because the expulsion of the

opponents of the Trinity only was an approbation of the other heresies. If it were impossibleto expel all the heretics, it was much better to

leave them all, that they might mutually destroyeach other by their dissensions. War amongstheretics gives peace to the church.*

The only victim who suffered by that decree Jt is aPPIied to

, the celebratedwas the celebrated Italian, Ochmo, whose fortunes ochino, who is

IT -ill obliged to leaveare amply described by the talented author of the Poland.

"

History of the Reformation inItaly,"

M Crie.

He arrived in Poland in the month of May 1564,and was cordially received by those who shared

his religious opinions. He remained for sometime at Cracow, where he preached in his native

language to a congregation composed of Italians

and Poles. He took also an active part in a

" Ferrentur omnes quo mordentes el comedentes invicem con-

sumerentur ab invicem." Hosius, Ep. 105.

Y 2

324 SKETCH OF THE

synod of the anti-Trinitarians. Cardinal Borro-

meus wrote by the order of the Pope to Hosius

and Commendoni, that they should endeavour to

expel Ochino from Poland ;and Beza addressed

at the same time a letter to the reformed churches,

entreating them to do the same. Ochino was

therefore obliged to leave Poland, and retired to

Moravia, where he soon terminated his long and

agitated life.

The R. c. The Roman Catholic clergy despairingclergy tries in

vain to perse- to cause any injury to the Protestant nobles,cute the citi-

.

zens of Posna- chose another arena for combating heresy. 1 he

inhabitants of the towns were not sheltered by

the same privileges as the nobles, neither were

they included in the law which granted to every

Polish noble the freedom of establishing in his

house such mode of Christian worship as he

might think proper. The town of Posnania

offered the most favourable opportunity for try

ing an experiment to persecute Protestants.

Many of its citizens were openly professing

Lutheran doctrines as well as those of the Bo

hemian Brethren. Koscielecki, the chief magis

trate of that province, a zealous Romanist, was

always inclined to give a ready assistance to

every attempt at persecuting the opponents of

the Pope. Czarnkowski, bishop of Posnania, a

man of a very cautious character, instigated in

an underhand manner the persecution which he

had not sufficient courage openly to begin; but


Paul Sarbin, a Dominican monk and inquisitor

of the diocese of Posnania, summoned before the

ecclesiastical tribunal Gregory Grycer, a citizen

of that town, accusing- him of having abandoned

the Roman Catholic religion for the Bohemian

or Picardian heresy ;of having opened his house

for impious meetings, where the communion of

two kinds was administered, and of having en

trusted the education of his children to John

Rokita, a Bohemian minister. Grycer did not

deny the truth of the accusation, and demanded

only a delay of his trial. The inquisitor issued

a summons at the same time, and on the same

charge, against James, a druggist, and Seraphine,

a tailor, both citizens of Posnania, who paid no

notice to those summonses. The magistrates of

the town, acting under the influence of the clergy,

imprisoned the above-mentioned individuals, who

would have probably met with a tragical end if

the proceedings commenced against them had

been suffered to continue. But the Protestant

grandees, Gorka, palatine of Posnania, and James

Ostrorog, entered the town at the head of manyarmed nobles professing the same creed, forced

the prison and released the sufferers, who, sup

ported by such a protection, were no longer

molested on acount of their religious opinions.

The bishop, seeing that he was unable to wreak

publicly, and in the midst of a populous city, his

326 SKETCH OF THE

vengeance against the antagonist of Rome, cited

before an ecclesiastical court, which he had

opened on his own estate, Cionzen, Paul, an

organist* by profession, on a charge of heresy.

Paul denied not the charge, and promised to

prove his conviction by argument. Such defence

would, however, have been of little avail to him

if he had no other support ;but the Protestant

grandees, John Tomicki, castellan of Rogozno,James Ostrorog, and Raphael Leszczynski, as

sisted with a hundred armed retainers, accom

panied Paul to the ecclesiastical tribunal. The

bishop, informed of this circumstance, did not

wait for the appearance of the defendant, but

pronounced by default a sentence of death

against him. When the above-mentioned nobles

appeared before the bishop, he said that they

came too late, because the affair was terminated,

and that they had nothing to do with it, because

it related not to the nobles, but to an individual

who did not enjoy their privileges. Ostrorog

answered, that if they permitted to injure

for his religious opinions a single individual,

however mean might be his condition, the same

thing would be attempted against the first gran-

* Paul was not a common organist, but seems to have been a

person of some importance, as a work on the duties of the

assistants of the Bohemian churches was dedicated to him.


dees of the realm. Paul returned to Posnania,

where he remained quiet after the clergy had

tried once more, but in vain, to molest him.

The most remarkable event, however, which Otwinowski in-

gave a full evidence of the weakness of the sacred cere-

authority of Rome and the contempt into which c^churcCat a

it had fallen at that time in Poland, occurred at SSSJ&, uJ?8*

Lublin in 1564. Erasmus Otwinowski,* who af- Jj[Tfi f L<1

~

terwards became conspicuous as an adherent of

the anti-Trinitarian sect, and as head master of

their celebrated school at Racov, succeeded in

convincing by his arguments a Roman Catholic

priest of the absurdity of the real presence in

the Eucharist, so that the priest promised to him

never to expose it to the adoration of the people.

The priest did not, however, keep his promise, and

carried the host inthe usual manner at a solemn

procession in the streets of Lublin. Otwinowski

stopped the priest in the midst of a large crowd

of people, and loudly reproached him for per-

dforming a ceremony, the absurdity of which he

had acknowledged himself. He demanded of the

priest to say the Lord s prayer, and when the cler

gyman said," Our father, which art in heaven,

"

* The same Erasmus Otwinowski is known in the Polish

literature as the translator of Ovid s Metamorphoses, and as the

author of several poems. He put into Polish verse all the parables

of our Saviour. He himself and eight of his brothers embraced

the Socinian doctrines. He died in 1607, at the age of ninety.

328 SKETCH OF THE

Otwinowski exclaimed, "God is then in heaven,

and not in the bread;"

and saying this, he snatch

ed from the hands of the priest the box con

taining the consecrated wafer, which he threw on

the ground, and trampled under his feet. The

assembled crowd murmured at the profanation of

the established worship, but offered no violence

to Otwinowski. The priest sent for the armed

force to arrest him, but he took shelter in the

house of a Protestant noble of the name of Su-

chodolski. This daring act, which was certainly

reprehensible for its violence, but which may be

excused by the zeal of Otwinowski, who wras

risking his life rather than suffer what he justly

considered as an impious idolatry, produced, as

it may be supposed, the greatest scandal amongstthe Roman Catholics; and it could not but injure

the belief in the transubstantiation, as no signs

of heavenly wrath appeared to punish such a

daring act of profanation of an object which was

considered so sacred in the eyes of the RomanHe is accused, Catholics. He was accused before the tribunal

quitted; but a of the Diet, and was in great danger of being

acted to protect condemned to a severe penalty; but his advocate,

the celebrated Rey of Naglovice,* who was at

that time member for Cracow, succeeded in

giving a favourite turn to this affair. He de

fended him on the plea that there was no law

* Vide page 161.


that provided against a similar trespass, and that he

could only be condemned to indemnify the priest

for the broken box and the flour expended in

making the wafer. Otwinowski was therefore

acquitted ;but a new law was enacted, which

severely prohibited the disturbance ofany religious

worship, whether Roman Catholic or Protestant.

The bishops being at last convinced of the utter

impossibility of breaking down Protestantism byforce, changed their policy, and tried to attain

their object by conciliatory means. They pro

posed at the Diet in 1566 to the Protestants the

following conditions : "That the nobles might insidious pro-, . . positions made

have in their houses ministers who have seceded by the bishops

from the Roman church, but that the same minis- tants?

ters should be approved by the Roman Catholic

bishops : that the nobles might erect new churches

for the performance of the Protestant worship,and maintain them at their own expense, but that

they should never touch either the churches or

tithes belonging to the Roman Catholics.

Besides this concession in respect to hierarchy,

they proposed an apparently still larger one, in

respect to the dogma. They consented to admit

the Gospels as the only unerring foundation of

faith, annulling all the explanations given by the

Roman Catholic councils and synods ; they onlyenacted that the authority of Augustinus, Chri-

sostomus, Ambrosius, and Hieronymus, should be

admitted as a test in expounding the Scriptures.

330 SKETCH OF THE

This proposition was opposed by the followers

of the Helvetian and. Bohemian churches, and

chiefly by Stanislav Lasocki and Nicholaus Rey.The latter demanded of the bishops to give an

explanation in what sense the four above-men

tioned fathers of the church were to be understood.

The bishops were compelled to confess, that it

could not be done in any other sense than that

which the Roman Catholic church attached to

them. This forced confession proved to the

Protestants that the above-mentioned proposi

tion was nothing but a snare which the bishops

were laying for them, and it put a stop to all

further discussions on this subject.

Establishment Whilst the struggle amongst the religious par-of Lutheranism .. i i 11 -11in Polish Prus- ties, which we have described, was going on in

Poland, Lutheranism was making rapid strides

in Polish Prussia. We have already described

the tragical events by which Protestantism was

suppressed for a time at Dantzic, as well as in all

the provinces of Prussia.* We have also said,

that this same province although politically united

with Poland, possessed a separate administration

and legislation ;it had also a separate hierarchy of

its clergy, whose chief, the archbishop of Warmia,was independent of the head of the Polish church.

This last circumstance, which in some degree iso

lated the Prussian clergy from that of Poland, may

* Vide page 116 and following.


be considered as a favourable circumstance to the

progress of the Reformation, as it prevented the

above-mentioned clergy from acting with concen

trated forces against the growing influence of

Protestantism.

The violent suppression of the reformed

doctrines in 1526 did not eradicate them, but

only arrested their open manifestation. The per

secution seems also to have exalted the imagina

tions of some hot-brained people, as there are

traces of some fanatical sects having appeared

about that time at Dantzic. As soon as the ter

ror produced by the severities of the triumphant

Romanism began to subside the Protestant

opinions, which had been only concealed but not

extirpated, began to show themselves, assuming

daily an increase of courage. Hosius, who be

came archbishop of Warmia in 1551, extorted

from the king by his importunities a decree order

ing the maintenance of the established religion ;

but public opinion grew every day stronger in

favour of the Reformation, and it was necessary

to abolish public processions in 1555. In the

same year, a motion was made at the provincial

Diet of Prussia, to establish religious liberty in

that province ;but as the Diet came not to any

conclusion on that subject, the majority of the

clergy renounced their obedience to Rome, and

began to administer the communion of two kinds

to their congregations in 1556. The efforts of

332 SKETCH OF THE

Hosius to stop the rapid progress of the Refor

mation were unavailing, and his influence was

more than counterbalanced by that of Achatius

Czeina, palatine of Marienburg, and Paul Dzia-

lynski, palatine of Pomerania, who had both

embraced the Protestant religion. The king

granted successively to different towns privileges

for erecting Protestant churches and schools,

and wherever he thought it inexpedient to give

a public countenance to the cause of the Re

formation, he connived at its progress.* Atlast he legalized its existence by the privilege

he gave to the town of Dantzic, on the 5th

July 1567, to establish the Lutheran mode of

worship. This freedom was extended to Elbingthe same year, and to all the provinces of Prussia

in 1569. This freedom related, however, onlyto the Lutherans, whilst the other denominations

of Protestants were excluded from a share in its

benefits.

* The grand chancel lor of Poland, John Ocieski, represented,

at a conference which he had in 1556 with the deputies of the

town of Dantzic,, who sought to obtain a privilege of professing

freely the Protestant religion, that the monarch could not grantan official act of such a nature, because the Pope, irritated bysuch proceedings, would instigate the emperor to assist the

Moscovites against Poland ; but that they might follow such a

kind of worship as their consciences bade them to do, and that

the king would never permit them to be molested on that

account Vide Friese, vol. i. page 214 and following.


When Livonia, having voluntarily submitted to Lutheranism,

., j . . established in

the crown of Poland, was annexed to its dominions Livonia, is cum

in 1561, Romanism was already abolished there, un j nofthat

and Protestantism, according to the confession of S2S3?V

Augsburg, established in its place. This order

of things was acknowledged and confirmed by

the king of Poland, as well as the other liberties

and privileges belonging to the inhabitants of

this new and important acquisition.*

* Livonia was conquered about 1200., by the German

knights called sword-bearers, and continued in the possession

of that military order till its extinction in 1561, when Livonia,

being unable to defend itself against the Czar of Muscovy,

voluntarily submitted to the domination of Poland. Gothard

Ketler, the last grand-master of the order, having embraced

Lutheranism, married a wife, and was created hereditary duke

of Courland, invested with all the rights of a sovereign, but

vassal to the crown of Poland. This memorable transaction

was performed by prince Nicholaus Radziwill, whom we have

had many opportunities of mentioning as a zealous promoter of

the Reformation in Poland. The family of Ketler continued

on the ducal seat of Courland till 1737, when Biron, or rather

Bieren, was raised to that dignity by the influence of the Russian

court, and Courland, which remained under the dependence of

Poland till its dissolution, became a Russian province in 1795.

The Reformation was introduced into Livonia about 1520, and

was much favoured by the grand-master, Walther von Pletten-

berg, one ofthe greatest chiefs that had ruled the order, although

it appears not that he had ever publicly renounced the commu

nion of Rome. It was particularly in the town of Riga that

Protestantism obtained an early preponderance, and this im

portant city entered the league of Smalcalden, formed by the

Protestants for the defence of their religion, and was included

in

334 SKETCH OF THE

We have already said that the towns of Poland,

partaking not of the liberties enjoyed by the

nobles, were not legally entitled to introduce into

their walls the Protestant mode of worship.

Cracow, the capital of the country and the resi

dence of the monarch, was placed in this respect

in the same position with the other towns. The

Protestant doctrines began to be propagated in

that city, chiefly by that secret society which we

have described.* These doctrines rapidly spread

over the palatinate of Cracow, and all the nobles

of the two important districts of Proszovice

and Xionz adopted the Helvetian or Genevese

confession. Olesnicki converted the RomanCatholic church of Pinczow into a Protestant.

His example was followed by Lasocki at Plecz-

nica, by Stadnicki at Niedzwiedz, by Zborowski,

palatine of Kalisz, at Stobnica, Filipowski at

Krzewice, as well as by many others. Myszkow-ski, palatine of Cracow, the powerful family of

Szafraniec, &c. embraced the reformed religion,

and maintained ministers of that communion,

who preached in the houses of their patrons to

the population of Cracow. In 1552, Justus

in the treaty of Passau in 1552, which granted religious liberty

to Protestants. The Reformation spread in Livonia without

any commotion, as the clergy themselves readily embraced its

doctrines.

* Vide page 138.


Decius, secretary to the king, established a

reformed church on his estate called Vola,

situated in the immediate vicinity of Cracow

and the synod appointed Gregory Pauli, of Brze-

ziny, minister to that church, which was fre

quented by crowds of the inhabitants of Cracow.

This place of worship was soon transferred to the

interior of the town by Bonar, castellan of Biecz,

who established it in a house belonging to him.

When Gregory Pauli became infected with anti-

Trinitarian doctrines, his place was given in 1562

to Simon Zacius (Zacki). In 1556, the church

was transferred by Tenczynski to his own house,

and removed in 1568 to that of Tarlo, palatine

of Lublin. The Protestant church existed in

this manner at Cracow, sheltered by the pri

vileges belonging to the nobles. It was, however, A reformed

necessary to erect a temple which would cor- edatccow*

respond in its outward appearance to those of theUjfJ

Roman Catholics, and which should have a legalnarch>

existence, without the necessity of recurring to the

patronage of private individuals. The influence

of the Protestant grandees obtained from Sigis-

mund Augustus a privilege, dated 8th August

1569, to build a church, a school, a hospital, and

to establish a burial-ground . This privilege was

afterwards confirmed and extended by the royal

ordinance of 1572, by which the Protestant

church was invested with prerogatives equal

to those possessed by the Roman Catholics.

336 SKETCH OF THE

The necessary cost for the erection of the church

and the school was immediately provided by a

generous subscription raised by the chief members of the congregation of Cracow, nobles as

well as burghers. The following persons were

elected as churchwardens and elders to the

congregation. From the nobility, John Zebrzy-

dowski and Stanislav Ivan Karminski, one of

the first and most zealous promoters of the Reformation : from the burghers, Chrubowski and

Gutterer, aldermen of Cracow, ChristopherTrecy,and Matthias Wierzbienta, a celebrated printer,

and some others;the chief of the tanners com

pany was chosen diaconus. The church con

tinued to flourish until it was destroyed bymobs instigated by the Jesuits, an event which

we shall relate in its proper place.

The Bohemian Brethren, who, as we have

seen,* were compelled in 1548 to leave Poland,

after having sojourned during ten weeks in the

vicinity of Posnania, stopped for some time at

Thorn, where they experienced a favourable

reception from the inhabitants of the town and

Establishment of the surrounding country. Their doctrines

Brethren began rapidly to gain ground, which naturally

alarmed the Roman Catholic clergy, and the

bishop of Culm, Tiedeman Giese, although secretly

inclined to the doctrines of the Reformation, was

Vide page 151,


obliged to make an application to the government that the same law by which the brethren

were expelled from Grand Poland should be

enforced against them likewise in Prussia. Thebrethren were consequently obliged to leave that

province, and to pass into the eastern or ducal

Prussia, with the exception of a single minister,

who secretly remained superintending a small

congregation formed by himself. He was, however discovered by Hosius in 1549, and compelledto follow the rest of his countrymen.The brethren were favourably received by

Albert duke of Prussia, who moreover sheltered

them by his patronage from the attacks which

some over-zealous Lutheran divines had begunto make on the dogma of the brethren. Theyreceived the rights of citizenship, a full liberty

of religious exercise, and a church was granted

to them, where they performed divine service in

their national tongue.* The Bohemians were,

* The patronage of the duke sheltered the Bohemian Bre

thren from the persecution of the Lutheran divines of Prussia

only for a time, and after the death of the above-mentioned

prince the persecution was renewed. In 1508, the brethren were

prohibited from having public worship. They were ordered

to sign the twenty articles of the confession established in

Prussia, and it was interdicted to them to have any communi

cation with their brethren either in Poland or Bohemia. This

induced the greatest part of them to emigrate, in 1574, to

Poland, where they enjoyed full liberty of religion.

VOL. I. Z

338 SKETCH OF THE

however, most anxious to promote and extend

their church in Poland, of which they had laid the

foundation during their short residence in that

country in 1548.

Matthias Sionski, bishop or superintendent

of the Bohemian community visited in the

following year (1549) Posnania, where he

found a hospitable reception in the house of

Andreas Lipczynski, alderman of the town.

Sionski preached in his house, and succeeded

in forming a little congregation. After having

visited Moravia, he passed again through Pos

nania, where he confirmed his rapidly increas

ing flock, which grew every day by the la

bours of Matthias Aquila, Mathias Czerwonka,

and George Israel, who frequently came over

from Prussia to strengthen the zeal and faith of

their new brethren. The congregation having

grown numerous, Sionski was requested to ap

point a permanent minister, and he entrusted

George Israel with that office.*

The mission of the new pastor was surrounded

with many dangers from the jealousy of the Ro

man clergy; but his zealous efforts in the Lord s

vineyard were soon crowned with a most bril

liant success, and his congregation was soon

joined by the first families of that province. We

may mention, amongst the principal converts,

* Vide page H8.


Catherine Ostrorog, sister of James and Stanislav

Ostrorog, lady of Pamiontkow, and her sister Jan-

kowski, whose example was followed by her hus

band and several relations;as well as by the fa

milies of Bukowiecki, Jaskolecki, Roznowski, &c.

Gorka, castellan of Posnania, a grandee who had

already adopted the doctrines of the Reformation,

patronized the new congregation, which was soon

increased by Shylling, one of the principal citi

zens of Posnania;and by Praxeda, a Dominican

nun, who distinguished herself afterwards by her

pious and exemplary life, as well as by the suc

cessful efforts she made to propagate the word

of God.*

* The best proof of her eminent merit is, that she particu

larly deserved the obloquy of the Romanist writers. Rescius

(Reszka) calls her a profligate, and says that she administered

to her congregation the communion of two kinds, having

received the orders : (vide his work De Atheismis, page 343.)

The same author did not scruple to profer against the Bohe

mian Brethren, whose morality was acknowledged on all hands,

calumnies, the foulness of which was equalled only by their

absurdity. He pretended, for instance, that the brethren as

sembled together in houses where, after divine service, the

lights were extinguished, and both sexes abandoned them

selves to an abominable commerce with those whom they

met by chance, and that children born from such criminal

connexion were murdered, by being carried from one person

to another until they expired from fatigue, and that he in

whose arms the child died was declared high priest of the

community. Such were the calumnies printed by Rescius,

who was the papal internuncio, and the confidant of Hosius.

340 SKETCH OF THE

But the most zealous and successful promoterof the Bohemian church was George Israel

himself, who notwithstanding that his life was

menaced by assassins hired by the bishop of Pos-

nania, prosecuted his pious labours with unabated

perseverance. He was powerfully assisted byCatherine Ostrorog, sister to James Ostrorog,

who although he had abandoned the communion

of Rome, was yet undecided which mode of Pro

testant worship he was to choose. He invited, in

1553, Felix Cruciger of Szczebzreszyn, superin

tendent of the Helvetian or Reformed churches of

Little Poland and Stancari, to act conjointly with

Israel in order to unite both the churches. Theycould not agree, then, about the final settlement

of that important question ;Felix returned to

his province, and Stancari s opinions were soon

afterwards condemned by the Helvetian as well

as by the Bohemian church. The conference,

however, which they had with Israel on that sub

ject in the presence of many persons, producedsuch an impression on Barbara Stadnicki, wife

of Ostrorog, that she declared her resolution to

enter the Bohemian community. Her husband

hesitated, for some time, but finally followed her

example, and delivered all the Romanist churches

It is, indeed, impossible to admit that he could believe such

absurdities ; but it was rather the result of a deliberate systemof calumny.


of his estates to Bohemian ministers.* Suchbrilliant success enabled the brethren to es

tablish a church in the town of Posnania,

which they did in the palace of the Ostrorogs.This not being as yet allowed by any kind of

enactment, could not fail to be considered as

an illegal proceeding, and the king was conse

quently obliged to give way to the representations of the Romanists, and issued an order, on

the 3d March 1556, dated Vilno, prohibitingthe meetings of the brethren, under the penalties

which still existed on the statute book of Poland

against heretics, although in fact they had be

come a dead letter. The zealous Romanist

Koscielecki eagerly executed the above-men

tioned ordinance, and the Bohemian church of

Posnania was shut up by his orders; but it

was soon re opened by the influence of Ostrorog.This success gave courage to the Lutherans, wholikewise opened their church at the same place.

We have already described in this chapter the

unsuccessful attempt which was made by the

Romanists at persecuting the Bohemian brethren

in 1564.

* Besides the church at Ostrorog, his principal domain, he

gave to the Bohemian ministers those of Lubran, Kozmin,

Marszew and Barczyn. Their churches were also established

about the same time at Lissa, Wieruszow, Skoki, Szamotuly*

and other towns of Grand Poland.

342 SKETCH OF THE

Although Stancari and Felix of Szczebrzeszyncould not effect, in 1553, a union of the reformed

church with the Bohemian Brethren, the neces

sity and possibility of such an act became every

day more manifest to the followers of both

the churches in Poland. The synod of Slom-

niki, 25th November 1554, made considerable

advances towards the above-mentioned union,

but did not adopt any definite resolutions on that

important subject. The synod of Chrencice, 24th

March 1555, was more explicit in its decisions,

and declared the possibility of a union between

the Helvetian and Bohemian churches in Poland.

The synod of Gnievkof removed many of the

obstacles to the accomplishment of that transac

tion, which was finally effected at the synod of

They establish Kozminek, near Kalish. This memorable assem-a union withthe Helvetian bly began its meetings on the 24th August 1555,

land. and terminated them on the 2d September of the

same year. The Bohemians were represented

by John Czerny, bishop or senior of their com

munity ; George Israel, Math. Rybinski, John

Gyrk, pastor of the German congregation, P. Stu-

denius, Peter Skalnicki, M. Marszek, Alb. Ser-

pentin, minister of Kozmin, John Rokita, John

Laurentius, John Petranius, St. Bydranski, J.

Filipowski, &c. There were, besides, the fol

lowing noblemen who had joined the Bohemian

church : John Krotowski, palatine of Inovrotzlav,

John Tomicki, castelan of Rogozno ;James


Ostrorog, Leszczynski, Grndzinski Marszewski,&c. The Helvetian church was represented byFelix of Szczebrzeszyn, superintendent of the

churches of Little Poland, Andreas Prazmowski,Stan. Lutomirski, Martinus Krowicki, Alexander

Vitrelinus, Gregorius Pauli, (the four last-named

afterwards deserted their church and embraced

anti-Trinitarian opinions). Besides these ministers

there were from the nobility, Lasocki, Filipow-ski, and Andreas Trzecieski, a celebrated scholar.

The duke of Prussia delegated his chaplain John

Funk, William Krzynecki, baron of Ronow,and Hieronymus Malecki to assist at this synod.The Bohemians presented to the Helvetian

church the confession of their faith, as well as

the form of their hierarchy and discipline, which,after having been carefully examined, was declared

strictly to correspond with the pure precepts of

the Gospel, and with the practice of the primitive church. A spiritual community was esta

blished between the two churches, although they

preserved a separate hierarchy. The ministers

of the Bohemian church were acknowledged in

the same capacity by the Helvetians and vice versa.

This union caused a great joy amongst the prin

cipal reformers of Europe, and many of them, as

Peter Martyr, Sturm, Pontanus, &c., addressed,on that occasion, congratulatory letters to the

Protestant congregations of Poland.

CHAPTER VIII.

RISE AND PROGRESS OF THE ANTI-TRINITARIAN

SECT IN POLAND.

THE doctrines of the Reformation had now

obtained in Poland a complete triumph over the

Romanist opposition, and the Protestant churches,

which numbered amongst their followers the

noblest families in Poland,* occupied a position

*Trzecieski, in his work " de Evangelii in Polonia

origine,"

enumerates the following great Polish names, which had em

braced the doctrines of the Reformation previously to the year

1556 ; Ostrorog, Olesnicki, Sieninski, Leszczynski, Szafra-

niec, Tenczynski, Jordan, Zborowski, Gorka, Mielecki, Laski,

Chodkiewicz, Radziwill, Melsztynski, Dembinski, Bonar, Bo-

ratynski, Firley, Cikowski, Tarlo, Lubomirski, Dzialynski,

Zebrzydowski, Sieniawski, Czarnkowski., Gorski, Dziaduski,

Zaremba, Przyjemski, Bninski, Malachowski,, Konarski, Wie-

lopolski, Straz, &c. &c. All these families occupied the first

dignities of the state. It is remarkable that many of the Pro

testants having returned into the pale of the Roman church,

often preserved opinions which were not in unison with the

spirit of that church ; as, for instance, John Zamoyski, whomour


equal to that of their antagonists in political

respects, and possessed that superiority which a

vigorous youth possesses over a superannuated

opponent. But a far more dangerous enemy to

the stability of the reformed churches than all

the machinations of Rome, arose in the very

camp of the Protestants, an enemy equally dan

gerous to Romanists and Protestants, and which

threatened to subvert all revealed religion. Wemean the anti-Trinitarian doctrines, which beganto be openly broached in Poland about 1546, at

the meetings of a secret society at Cracow.* The First

. , ,. tations of

works of Servetus, according to the evidence ot anti-Trinitarian

Modrzewski, were read by many in Poland. Lelio8

Socino, who visited that country in 1551, had

undoubtedly propagated the same opinions, and

Stancari contributed to it by maintaining that

the mediation of our Lord Jesus Christ was

our history calls " the Great;" he was educated in the Protestant

religion, and even took a conspicuous part in the reformed

synod of Bychava, in 1560, but became afterwards a Roman Ca

tholic during his residence in Italy. He was, however, a zealous

defender of religious liberty, and he once said, in the presence

of the king and of the senate, the following memorable words :

" I would give half of my life, if those who have abandoned

the Roman Catholic church should voluntarily return into its

pale; but I would prefer giving all my life than to suffer

any body to be constrained to do it, for I would rather die

than witness such anoppression."

* Vide page 139.

346 SKETCH OF THE

made only according to his human, and not to

his divine nature. But the individual who first

licly proclaims . rr,. . . .

them at a synod embodied the anti- 1 rmitanan opinions into one

positive doctrine, was a certain Peter Gonesius.*

He was educated at the university of Cracow;

and being a zealous Romanist, he took a violent

part against Stancari in 1550. Paul Algimont,

prince of Holszansk, bishop of Vilna, took him

under his patronage, and afforded to him the

means of prosecuting his studies at the foreign

universities. Gonesius frequented for some time

the university of Wittemberg, and visited the

principal academies of Germany without aban

doning Romanism;but he changed his persua

sion in Switzerland, and went to another ex

treme, being very likely infected with the anti-

Trinitarian doctrines by the Italians who had

fled to that country on account of their religious

opinions. Be it as it may, Gonesius, who had

returned to Poland apparently as a follower of

the Helvetian church, openly declared his opi

nions at the reformed synod of Secemin, the

24th January 1556. He rejected the Athanasian

creed, and denied the community of the Son with

the Father. He rejected, at the same time, the

usual mode of receiving the Trinity, and main

tained the existence of three distinct Gods;

* He is also called Goniondzki, or a Goniondz,, having pro

bably been a native of Goniondz, a little town in the provinceof Podlachia.


although he acknowledged the true Godhead to

belong only to the Father. The synod gaveno decision on that subject, but transmitted his

confession to Melancthon. Gonesius was him

self its bearer, and Melancthon tried in vain

to induce him to abandon his opinions.

Gonesius gave a more complete developmentof his doctrines at the synod of Brest, in Lithua

nia, the 15th December 1558, where he read a

treatise against the baptism of infants, and added

the significant words that there were other thingswhich had crept from Popery into the church.*

The synod, being afraid of producing a division

amongst the reformers, contented itself with im

posing silence on Gonesius, under penalty of ex

communication. He, however, refused obedience

to his church, and found a great number of ad

herents who embraced his opinions. He derived

the greatest support from John Kiszka, generalof Lithuania and starost of Samogitia, a grandee

possessed of immense wealth and influence,

who having embraced his opinions, appointedhim minister of Wengrow, a town belonging to

him, and zealously promoted the establishment

of churches maintaining the supremacy of the

father over the son.f But the doctrines of Go-

* Se habere et alia qucs ex papatu in ecclesiam irrepuerunt.

\ Gonesius, who maintained that baptism should be adminis

tered only to adults (hence the surname of Anabaptists given to

his followers), published the following works : 1. " On the Son

of

348 SKETCH OF THE

nesius, which resembled more those of Arius than

the opinions of Servetus, served only as a passageto a complete denegation of the mystery of the

Gonesius gains Trinity as well as of the divinity of our Lordmany followers.

Jesus Christ. Gonesius soon numbered amongsthis adherents many individuals distinguished bytheir rank and learning, amongst ministers as

well as amongst the nobles.

The anti-Trinitarian doctrine took, however,its greatest development at Pinczow, a place in

those doctrines, the paia tinate of Cracow, where, as we have seen,

Olesnicki had converted the first Roman Catholic

church into a Protestant one.* We have also

of God,, who was before the Creation of the World, and bywhom all things were made," dedicated to his patron, Kiszka,

and printed at Wengrow in 1570. 2. On the Baptism of

Infants." 3. " On the Three, the Father, the Son, and the

Holy Spirit, against the Adherents of theTrinity." This last

work is exceedingly rare, as it was destroyed by Kiszka, whoembraced the opinions of the Pinczovians, Sandius enumerated

the following works of Gonesius : 1."

Against the Baptism of

Infants," read at the synod of Brest in 1558. 2." A Treatise"

on the same subject,, against Kryszkowski, a member of the

Bohemian Church;" and,, 3. " A Treatise against the School of

Rakov," which maintained that Christ did not exist previously

to his birth. He maintained also, that a Christian should neither

bear arms nor accept of any civil office:" Homini Christiana non

licere nee magistratum gerere, neque gladio uti" In token of

this opinion he used to wear a wooden sword. It is sup

posed that he advocated also the community of goods.* Vide page 166.


seen that Stancari, who was chiefly instrumental

in bringing about that conversion, contributed

much to the rise of anti-Trinitarian doctrines byhis disputes about the nature of the mediation of

our Saviour. The divines of Pinczow, although which are di-

apparently following the tenets of the Genevese verai

church, were soon divided into different shades

of opinion about the mystery of the Trinity.Besides those who did not question the truth of

that mystery, there were two parties, of which

one maintained that Jesus Christ, according to

his divine nature, was equal to his Father; but as

a Mediator according to his human nature, he

was inferior to him; the other maintained that

the Son was always inferior to the Father. This

last opinion made a rapid progress in the bold

ness of its speculations, as well as in the numberof its adherents.

Notwithstanding these opinions, so contraryto the tenets of the Helvetian church, no openschism took place for some time, and many flat

tered themselves with the hope of maintainingthe purity of its doctrine. This hope proved,

however, to be delusive. Czechowicz decidedly

rejected the baptism of infants;whilst Shoman

Lustovic and Peter Statorius, formally denied the

divinity of the Holy Spirit ; and the Pinczovians

published two confessions of their creed a small

one in 1560, and a larger in 1561. These con

fessions may be, however, considered as only

350 SKETCH OF THE

indefinite outlines of their doctrines, which re

mained for some time in an uncertain state, and

without assuming any definite form. Their school

was disunited, and still wavering on what foun

dation it should finally determine its creed. It

arrived, however, at the following conclusions,

that Christ was not a real God; that the HolyGhost had not a divine nature; that the mediation

of our Saviour was human;and that baptism had

no sanctity ;in fact, it was overthrowing revela

tion, and assigning to Christianity a human origin.

Its progress wras nevertheless very rapid, and it

menaced the Helvetian church, in the bosom of

which it had taken birth, with total subversion.

The Helvetian church, which was predominant

amongst the nobles of Little Poland and

Lithuania, and which acquired a new strength

from its union with the Bohemian Brethren of

Grand Poland, felt its danger, but resolved to

make a bold stand against an enemy risen from

amongst its own children. Geneva strongly

admonished the Polish reformed churches vigo-

rcform

S

edf th^

rously to defend themselves against the at-

churchofPo- tacks of the anti-Trinitarians, and Beza openlyland to combatthese danger- advised to coerce them with the sword. Butous doctrines,and violent sanguinary measures were impossible in Poland,advice given to

it by the re- it remained only to combat them by argumentformers of

Switzerland. and synods.

Biandrata, and The dogma of the Trinity \vas also attackedhis influence on T ,. ,, ,

the progress of by George Biandrata, an Italian ot great learning,


who having arrived in Poland gained such credit anti-Trini-

amongst the Protestants that he was elected one"

of the superintendents of the Helvetian churches

of Little Poland.* The synod of Pinczow, in

1558, endeavoured to silence all those dangerousinnovations which were broached by Stancari,

Blandrata, and Lismanini. The doctrine of the

Trinity was strenously defended by Laski and

*George Blandrata was born in the marquisate of Saluzzo,

in Piedmont. He embraced the profession of a physician, and

his great talents united with a lively wit, agreeable manners,and an advantageous appearance, insured to him a great

success, and rendered him a favourite with many eminent

persons. Having embraced the doctrines of the Reformation,

he retired to Geneva, but having manifested anti-Trinitarian

opinions, he thought it prudent to retire from Switzerland, and

arrived in Poland in 1555. Notwithstanding the admonitions

of Calvin, the reformed churches of Little Poland received

Blandrata with distinction, and entrusted him with importantoffices in their administration. In 1563 he left Poland, having

accepted the place of physician to John Sigismund, prince

of Transylvania. His profession giving him an easy access to

the prince as well as to the first families in the country, afforded

him great facilities for propagating his doctrines. He suc

ceeded so far in his object, that after a public disputation which

he held, in conjunction with Paul Davidi, a celebrated Unitarian,

against the Lutheran ministers at Weissenburg, and which

lasted ten days, the prince and the chief nobles of the country

embraced his doctrines. After the death of John Sigismundhe returned to Poland, and was physician to king Stephen

Battory. He afterwards abandoned the anti-Trinitarian opi

nions, and joined the Reformed church. He was murdered

about 1590, by his own nephew.

352 SKETCH OF THE

Stanislav Sarnicki, chaplain to Bonar, castellan

of Biecz. Their pious efforts did not, however,

succeed in silencing their adversaries, who con

sidered the synod of Pinczow as having led to

the development of their doctrines.* At the

synod of Pinczow, 25th April 1559, Laski and

Sarnicki, two strenuous antagonists of the anti-

Trinitarians, who presided at it. ordered that

all the ministers should make a confession of

their creed about the Trinity and its persons.

This measure could not remedy the growing evil,

and Remigius Chelmicki presented to the synod

held at Pinczow, on the 20th to the 22d of Novem

ber the same year, his work, in which he advis

ed the abolishment of the invocation of the Holy

Spirit, denying its divinity. This opinion was also

supported by Peter Statorius, a Frenchman, f

although with more moderation. The same sub

ject was debated at the synods of Sandomir and

Ylodzislav; and at that of Xionz in 1560, where

the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the reformed

churches was organized. The partizans of the

* Statorius says that the synod of Pinczov made, femagnum

ingressum ad demoliendum dogma Trinitatis." The same

opinion is maintained by Lubieniecki.

f Statorius was born at Thionville in France, and arrived in

Poland in 1559, where he was naturalized by the Diet as a

noble,, and took the name of Stoinski. He studied under Beza,

but embraced the opinions of Servetus. He is the author of

the first Polish Grammar.


anti-Trinitarian opinions endeavoured to giveto the laity a superiority over the clergy, in

the government of the church, to deprive the

ministers of all influence, and to limit themto the office of teaching. They did not succeed

in their object; but their influence must have

been great, as Blandrata was elected superin^tendent of all the reformed churches of Little

Poland, which gave him great facilities for

spreading his opinions.

The reformed churches of Poland were in the

greatest danger of being wholly perverted by the

fast-spreading anti-Trinitarianism. This dangerwas increased by the death of their most eminent

champion, John Laski, who was a host in the de

fence of the Reformation against its external and

internal enemies. Providence had left to them,

however, some strenuous defenders, who opposedwith unabated zeal and undaunted courage the evil

which was progressing with an apparently irre

sistible force, and which had infected many of the

most eminent members of the reformed church.

Andreas Trzecieski, Stanislav Sarnicki, Sylvius

(Lesniovvolski ),and Felix of Szczebrzeszyn,

exerted themselves to the utmost of their power in

order to prevent a division in their church, which

could not be but very prejudicial to the great

cause of the Reformation. They sought advice

and support from Switzerland as the head-foun

tain of their doctrines, and they found the

VOL. 1. 2 A

354 SKETCH OF THE

reformers of Zurich and Geneva ready to assist

them in that emergencyThe opinions of Stancari about the mediation

of our Saviour had been condemned by Melanc-

thon, Bullinger, P. Martyr, and Beza, and this

condemnation was approved by the churches

of Geneva and Zurich in 1561. Blandrata,

whose opinions were much more anti-Trinitarian

than those of Stancari, clothed them with ex

pressions borrowed from the Gospel, and pro

pagated them with great caution. Apparently

he did not abandon the orthodox creed ;but

subscribing to it, explained it in a manner of his

own. He made an apology for his belief at the

synod of Xionz, and was acknowledged to be

orthodox.* This feigned orthodoxy of Blandrata,

which deceived the Polish reformers, did not

impose on the sagacity of Calvin, who disbe

lieved the sincerity of his profession, and

urgently admonished the churches of Poland

not to trust the Italian.*}* Experience fully

* " Ncc volumus a consensu ecclesiarum veslrarum discedere.

Blandrata nostrce confessioni uno subscripuisse."

Letter of

Felix of Szczebrzeszyn, addressed to Calvin in the name of the

synod of Xionz, dated August 3, 1541.

f Vide Calvin s letters to Felix of Szczebrzeszyn and the

ministers of Little Poland, as well as his epistle to the church

of Vilna. He says :

"

magni vobis est existimatio Blandrata :

vos admirammi non secus atque angelum de ccclo delapsum :

immodica vestra facilitate male ecclems veslris fuerit consul-turn,

ccepit


justified the fears of Calvin, because Blanclrata,

who enjoyed a very great influence in Poland,

employed it with considerable effect in propa

gating his errors, with which he infected manyeminent personages.

The admonitions of Calvin were not without

effect, although the synod of Vilna received

them with displeasure. Prince Radziwill, under

whose direction it was deliberating, disapprovedthe proceedings of Calvin, and, instead of con

sidering Blandrata as a heretic, entrusted him

as his plenipotentiary to the synod of Pinczow,in 1561. The anti-Trinitarians were not less

bold in that synod, pretending that their doctrine

was the orthodox one. R. Chelmicki renewed

his confession about the invocation of the Holy

Spirit, and Statorius undertook the defence of

Blandrata, advising to disbelieve the admonitions

of Calvin. The synod listened only to the opposite

doctrines, without venturing on any decision.

The synod of Cracow, 10th December 1561,

was more explicit. The admonitions of Calvin

wrere read, and the doctrines of Blandrata and

Lismanini were rejected, according to the advice

ccepit per ambages questionem trahere Jidei nostrce articulum

de deitate Christi ; sua sornnia sparsit apud impcritos."

He addressed at the same time Blandrata himself, reproach

ing him, in a rather harsh language, for his duplicity :

" Vultus tuum detestabile monstrum, mihi ostendit quod in corde.

occuUumfaves" <^c.

2 A 2

356 SKETCH OF THE

of Sarnicki. The synods of Pinczow, held on

the 25th June and 20th November 1561, and

that of Vlodislav, on the 2st October of the

same year, deliberated on that subject without

coming to any decisive conclusion. The synodof Xionz, on the 10th March 1562, produced an

apparent approximation of the contending parties,

although in fact it was favourable to the anti-

Trinitarians. The opinions of Blandrata gained

new adherents, but the synod did not pass anydecisive resolution on that subject, which it left

to a more general assembly. But to the synod

of Pinczow, convened the same year, on the 21st

April, Blandrata presented his confession of

faith, composed entirely with orthodox expres

sions. He denied the charge of polytheism made

against his doctrines, and expressed his wish

to the synod that Calvin might be permitted to

confess Christ as the son of God, without any

further explanations.* The synod passed such

a resolution, as if it wished to conceal its real

opinions, or to prevent at any price a schism,

All researches about the Trinity, mediation, in

carnation, were to be abandoned : all expresions

unknown to the primitive church were prohi

bited. The ministers were to preach the pure

words of the Gospel, unadulterated by any human

* Sandius. This synod was composed of twenty-eight mi

nisters and twelve lay patrons. Lubieniecki.


explanations. The decisions of the councils held

after the apostolical times were declared not

binding*. Sarnicki, who perceived that this re

solution was passed in order to conceal the real

opinions of its framers, proposed that all the

ministers maintaining the supremacy of the

Father over the Son should resign their offices,

but his proposition was rejected, by which the

anti-Trinitarian bias of the synod became evi

dent.

Bland rata left Poland and retired to Transyl- Gregory1,1-1 i , f^ - gives to the

vania;but his place was occupied by Gregonus anti-Trin.ta-

Pauli, of Brzeziny, who had already manifested"

moreC

Com-S

his anti-Trinitarian opinions at the synod of ment.

6

Secemin, in 1556, when they were proclaimed

by Gonesius. Being accused at the synod of

Pinczow on that account, he threw off every

disguise, and proclaimed from the pulpit his

opinions respecting the mystery of the Trinity.

He rejected the Nicean creed, and the doctrine

of the first five cecumenic councils. He went

even much further than Gonesius and Arius,

maintaining that Christ did not exist before his

birth, and consequently reduced him to the con

dition of man. He condemned the baptism of

infants, and maintained that Christ had abolished

the temporal powers, that death did not sepa

rate the soul from the body, and that the bodydid not in reality die; that the holy Scriptures

do not establish any difference between the

358 SKETCH OF THE

resurrection of the soul and of the body, but they

will both have a common resurrection. That the

spirit formed not a separate and independentsubstance. That God has raised from the dead

the body of Christ, which entered heaven. That

the doctrine about the death of the body was

introduced by the Antichrist, who established byit purgatory and the invocation of the saints.

Pauli was also inclined to a community of goods.

These daring propositions were strenuously op

posed by Sarnicki and the orthodox party, which

was strong at that synod. They boldly denounced

the doctrine of Pauli as dangerous, and subver

sive of Christianity itself. The synod separated,

however, without giving any final decision, but a

war from the pulpit was begun about that sub

ject. The synod of Rogow, in July 1562, con

vened for the purpose of conciliating the parties,

evinced a leaning to the doctrines of Pauli, and

that of Pinczow (August 1 562) was composed of

a majority of his adherents ;but Sarnicki refused

to acknowledge its authority. Another synod,

which met at the same place (November the 4th

1562), tried to preserve a union, by a proposition

that the confession of the Helvetian church should

be signed, but that it should be permitted to

examine and to explain it without any limitation.

This proposition was rejected by the orthodox

party. But the conference of Piotrkow, which

was held the same year, established a final sepa-


ration, as the anti-Trinitarian party, guided by

the ministers, Pauli, Stanislav Lutomirski, Mar-

tinus Krowicki, George Shoman, and the nobles,

John Niemojowski, Hieronymus Filipowski and

John Kazanowski, solemnly declared their rejec

tion of the mystery of the Trinity.

Sarnicki, supported by the influence of Bonar, The reformed

. synod of Cra-

castellan of Biecz, and of Myszkowski, palatine of cow, in 1563,

Cracow, assembled, on the 14th May 1563, at the

last-named capital, a synod of the staunch adhe-

rents of the Helvetian church. It condemned wishes a

in an unqualified manner the anti-Trinitarian

doctrines,* and summoned Pauli, who was mini

ster of the congregation of Cracow, to resign his

office. He was obliged to comply with this in

junction, but remained for some time at the head

of a separate congregation, which had embraced

his opinions.t

The anti-Trinitarians were not intimidated by

that solemn condemnation of their doctrine by

* The most distinguished defenders of the reformed confes

sion at that synod were, the castellans of Cracow and Zawi-

chost, Firley, palatine of Lublin, Joachim Lubomirski, and

Justus Decius, secretary to the king. Vide Lubieniecki.

J Pauli was of Italian descent, but born in Poland. After

having for some time directed an anti-Trinitarian congregation

at Cracow, he retired to Pinczow, whence he passed to Racow,

and presided over the congregation of that place until his

death, in 1591. He advocated all his life the doctrine, that a

Christian should neither accept of civil offices nor bear arms.

360 SKETCH OF THE

the synod of Cracow, pronounced on the 14th

May 1503, and they convoked, a few days after

wards, and in the same capital, a synod of their

own, presided over by Lutomirski, and composedof twenty ministers and three lay patrons : it

declared the resolutions of the other synod null

and void, and made an appeal against them to a

synod which was to be convened in the month of

September of the same year. They published an

apology of their creed, and invited the churches

of Podlachia and Lithuania, many of which

shared their errors, to join them, in order to

define better the doctrine and the hierarchy.

The projected synod of Cracow did not take

place ;but that which was held at Mordy (a

little town in Podlachia) on the 6th of June 1563,

Anti-Trinita- against the Helvetian church, manifested a com-rian synod of , ,-, . .

Mordy. pletely organized party, lorty-two ministers

signed a confession, denying the divinity of

Christ, although they left the expression of Tri

nity in order not to frighten away some less bold

minds.*

The anti-Trinitarians began to be knownunder the name of Pinczovians, as the town

of Pinczow had become their principal school.

Although they united in their chief dogma the

* The synod says, in its address to prince Radziwill :" Vo-

cabulum Trinitatis non omnino redciere poluimus, propter aliquos

infirmiores." Vide Lubieniecki.

REFORMATION IN POLAND. 36 J

superiority of the Father over the Son, they dis

agreed amongst themselves on many other points.

For instance, the baptism of infants was con

demned by Gonesius, Albin, Pulchranius, rector

of the school of Bychawa, Paklevvski, pastor of

Lublin, Hieronymus Piekarski, but principally

by Martinus Czechowicz, an eminent writer of

that party; but it was defended by Symon Zac-

ki, superintendent of Vilna, and by some others.

The synod of Brest in Cujavia, the 10th June

1565, composed of thirty-two ministers, miti

gated a little that dispute, but did not pass anyfinal resolution on that subject. The synod of

Wengrow (25th December 1565), composed of

forty-seven ministers and eighteen eminent noble

men, besides a great number of inferior person

ages, may be considered as one of the most

important anti-Trinitarian assemblies. It was

acknowledged by the churches of the districts

of Szydlowietz, Lublin, Chelm, and Brest, and

the synod of the churches in the Carpathianmountains sent to it its full powers. A letter

of the Transylvanian churches was publicly read,

and many individuals belonging to the first

families joined on that occasion the anti-Tri

nitarian churches. We may mention amongstthem Barbara, lady to Kiszka, palatine of Wi-

tepsk, and Anne, princess Radziwill. The synod

rejected the baptism of infants, on the plea

that it was neither used by the primitive church,

362 SKETCH OF THE

nor commanded by the Gospels; but it did not

positively prohibit it, and left it to the conscience

of individuals, recommending charity and mutual

forbearance. This resolution was rejected by the

church of Vilna, which defended the baptism of

infants. The doctrine of the baptism of adults

was put into practice at that synod, and Czecho-

wicz administered it by immersion to James Nie-

mojowski.Principal te- The anti-Trinitarian church was entirely con-nets of their

sect. stituted in 1565; it had its synods, ministers,

schools, and a complete ecclesiastical organiza

tion. The principal tenets of that church, embodied in its confession, published in 1574,* were

as follows :" God has made the Christ, i. e. the

most perfect prophet, the most sacred priest, the

invincible king, by whom he has created the newworld. This new world is the new birth, which

Christ has preached, established, and performed.Christ has amended the old order of things, and

granted to his elected eternal life, that they

might, after God the most high, believe in him.

* ( Catechisis et confesstojidei coetus per Poloniam congregati

in nomine Jesu Christi, domini nostri, crucifixi et resuscitati"

typis Alexandri Turobicki, in 1574, 12mo. 160 pages. This

work, which is exceedingly rare, is supposed to have been writ

ten by Gregory Shoman, and printed at Cracow. It is com

posed with the expressions of the Gospel : dolose selectis ct

perverse addictis" as Walchius says. Vide his Bibliotheca

Theologica.


The Holy Spirit is not God, but a gift, the ful

ness of which the Father has granted to his Son."

The same confession prohibited to take oaths, or

to sue before tribunals for any injury whatever.

Sinners were to be admonished, but neither penalties nor any other kind of persecution should

ever be inflicted. The church reserved only to

itself the right of excluding refractory members.

Baptism was to be administered only to adults,

and considered as the sign of purification, which

changes the old Adam into a heavenly one. TheEucharist was understood in the same manner as

by the churches of Zurich.

These doctrines were rapidly spreading, and

many of the first persons in Poland became

infected with them.* They attracted the notice

of all the country, and it was in order to make

an exposition of the differences which divided

the Helvetian church from the Pinczovians that

Modrzewski wrote, by the command of Sigis-

mund Augustus, his Sylvce.^ He evinced in that

work an anti-Trinitarian bias, although he did not

approve the doctrines of the Pinczovians. The

king issued, with the Diet of 1565, an ordinance

that a public conference should take place, in

order to pacify the reformed churches. There

was no reasonable hope of attaining that object

* " The Diet was filled with Arians," says Bielski.

f Vide page 201.

364 SKETCH OF THE

by such means; but the conference took place in

1566, at a Diet held at Piotrkow.

Public disputa-The conference was held in a solemn manner.

The Helvetian churches were represented on that

occasion by Samicki, Sylvius (Lesniowolski),

Andreas Prazmowski, Christopher Trzecieski,1566. rector of the school of Cracow, and John Rokita,

minister of the Bohemian community at Kozmin.

John Firley, palatine of Lublin, grand marshal

of the crown, John Tomicki castellan of Gne-

zno, and James Ostrorog were chosen as judges

and witnesses by the same church. Stanislav

Myszkowski, castellan of Sandomir, was chosen

by the same the director, and Nicholaus Dluski

the secretary of the conference. The anti-

Trinitarian party were represented by Gregory

Pauli, minister of Racow, Gregory Shoman,minister of Lublin, Stanislav Paulewski, minister

of the same place, Stanislav Lutomirski, superin

tendent of the anti-Trinitarian churches of Little

Poland, John Lutomirski, castellan of Sieradz,

Nicholaus Siennicki, surnamed for his eloquencethe Demosthenes of Poland, and at that time

marshal or chairman of the chamber of nuncios

(house of commons). The direction was en

trusted to Hieronymus Filipowski, and John

Kazanowski was chosen secretary.

The Lutheran party did not take any part in

that conference. The Roman Catholics, invited by

the king to co-operate in the defence of the prin-


cipal dogma of the Christian religion, seemed at

first to be inclined to join the conference; but after

wards refused, under pretence that the Roman see

forbade to local assemblies the discussion of mat

ters of faith. There were four public meetings, in

which the mystery of the Trinity was debated.

The delegates of the Reformed churches defended

it by the authority ofthe Gospel, supported by that

of the fathers and of the first oecumenic councils.

The anti-Trinitarians rejected the fathers as well

as the councils in defending their doctrine.

Gregory Pauli was their principal orator, and the

leader of their party on that occasion.*

The meeting produced no effect, as both parties retained their former convictions. It is

remarkable that the report of that conference

was made to the king and the senate by Firley,

palatine of Lublin, a staunch adherent of the

Helvetian church, and to the chamber of nuncios

by Sienicki, an anti-Trinitarian. We conclude

for the present this sketch of the anti-Trinitarian

sect in Poland, as we shall give our readers, in

the second volume of this work, a detailed ac

count of their further and ultimate development,until their final expulsion from the country.

* * Placuit magnee parti nobilitatis, rege Sigismundo permit-

tente, colloquium de religione instituerc Gregoriux Pauhix dux

h&rcsifi."

Possevini Opera Coloniae, 1587-95.

CHAPTER IX.

EFFORTS MADE BY THE PROTESTANTS TO EFFECT A

UNION OF THEIR CHURCHES, AND ACCOMPLISHMENT

OF THAT OBJECT, BY THE CONSENT OF SANDOMIR

(CONSENSUS SANDOMIRIENSIS).

NOTWITHSTANDING the disturbances created in

the reformed church by the anti-Trinitarians, and

the deep injury which it inflicted on the cause of

the Reformation in Poland, the Protestants did

not lose sight of the important project of uniting

the three churches of Poland, viz. the Reformed

or Helvetian, the Bohemian, or, as it was often

called, the Valdensian, and the Lutheran. This

union once firmly established, would have given

to the Protestant party an irresistible strength,

and insured its speedy triumph over the Roman

church, which was enabled to resist their attacks

not so much by its own strength as by the deplo

rable dissensions of its antagonists.


An important step towards the attainment of

that great object was made by the union of the

Helvetian with the Bohemian churches, effected

by the synod of Kozminek in 1555,* and which

deserved the warmest applause of the most

eminent reformers of Europe/f This union was

confirmed by the synod of Pinczov in 155G, that

of Vlodislav in 1557 and that of Xionz in 1560.

The united churches endeavoured to extend their

alliance to the Lutherans, and the synod of

Vlodislav, presided over by the celebrated John

Laski, or a Lasco, invited the Lutherans to join

their union, but the invitation remained without

effect. Laski enjoyed a paramount influence over

the reformed churches of Poland, and he maybe considered as having contributed the most

to their establishment in his native land, and to

the preponderance which they acquired over the

other Protestant churches of that country. But he

was by no means popular with the Lutherans; and

we have already had ample opportunity, in givinga sketch of the life and labours of that eminent

reformer, to mention the persecutions to which

he had been exposed by the bigoted Lutherans.

* Vide page 342.

f" De vestro cum Valdensibus" (Bohemian Brethren),

consensu optima quaque spero vobis omnibus sedulo danda cst

opera ut hcec pia conspiratio magis ac magis sanciatur." Letter

of Calvin to Karminski.

368 SKETCH OF THE

The hatred which the Lutherans of Germanyand Denmark bore to Laski was communicated

to those of Poland, and they rejected the invi

tation of the above-mentioned synod. The at

tempt which was made at the Lutheran synod of

Gluchow in 1557, to promote that great object,

instead of appeasing* rather increased the diffi-

opposition of culties. The united churches delegated to thatthe Lutherans

. .

to the union of synod, as their representatives, the Bohemianthe three Pro- . .

*

. . .

testant ministers Israel, Drzewmski, Lauren ti us, and

Poland. Rokita;but Laski, who probably had foreseen

the irritation of the Lutherans, did not join

it. Experience proved that he was right in

following that course, as the Lutherans read

publicly at that synod the work of Westphalus,

which, as we have already mentioned,* was a

bitter and unmerited invective against Laski.

This preposterous step naturally gave offence to

the followers of the Helveto-Bohemian churches,

and increased the difficulties to the accomplishment of a union between them and the Lutherans. The Bohemian church was meanwhile

rapidly increasing under the direction of George

Israel, whose great merit and devotion to its cause

rendered him worthy of becoming its ruler. Its

synod, which assembled at Slezany in Moravia,was composed of no less than two hundred

ministers from Moravia and Poland, besides

Vide page 265.


many noblemen and other laymen from both

countries. The Lutherans did not, however, cease

to attack it with accusations of heresy, and the

Bohemian church, which had much at heart the

union of all Protestants, adopted a wise measure

in order to obtain a solemn and decisive evidence

of its orthodoxy. It sent a deputation to the

Protestant churches of Germany with the object

of restoring the spiritual community established

with Luther,* and to remove by it the ill-will

of his followers which impeded the accomplish

ment of the desired union. The deputation, A deputation

composed of James Rokita and Peter Herbert, B

was favourably received by Wolfgang, palatine of th?diief ra

the Rhine, as well as by Christopher, duke of

Wirtemberg ;and the confession of their church

was found free from errors, and comformable to

the doctrines of the Gospel. The duke of Wir

temberg recommended by his letters the Bohe

mian church to Nicholaus prince Radziwill, Lu-

kas Gorka, palatine of Posnania, and Stanislav

Ostrorog. Rokita returned to Poland furnished

with evidence sufficient to repel the attacks of

the Lutherans at home and abroad;but Herbert

extended his journey, and visited the most emi

nent reformers and the principal Protestant

schools of Germany and Switzerland, in order to

submit to their approbation the confession of his

* Vide page 148.

VOL. I. 2 B

370 SKETCH OF THE

church : he fully attained his object, and Sulcer

at Basil, Peter Martyr and Bullinger at Zurich,

Calvin, Viret, and Beza at Geneva, and Musculus

at Berne, gave a most flattering evidence in its

favour. Such eminent authorities silenced for a

time the ill-will of the Lutherans, and they sent

delegates to the synod of Xionz in September

1560; but these delegates remained passive audi

tors, instead of taking an active part at the

deliberations of the synod, because, as they said,

they came only in order to listen and to investi

gate, and not to direct, as they had no powers for

concluding a religious communion. This synod

synods of introduced the final organization of the united

Posnaniacon- churches, and strengthened their alliance by avened in order j . . f . r^*to promote that more precise definition 01 some points. Ihe

views of the united churches were somewhat

advanced at the synod of Posnania assembled on

the 1st November of the same year, and which

was very numerous, being composed of manynoblemen and ministers from Grand and Little

Poland. The Lutherans showed themselves less

obstinately adverse to the establishment of a

union, and the eighth canon of that synod recom

mended to seek the means of accomplishing this

desideratum. The greatest obstacle to the union

was the strict dogmatical spirit of the Lutherans,

who refused to surrender even points of minor

importance. They exacted the most absolute

identity, and could not be satisfied with a perfect


similarity of doctrines. The understanding which

was beginning to be established was moreover

troubled by foreign instigations. Illiricus Flacius*

had already sent (1558,) an emissary to Poland,in order to prevent the projected union, and his

adherents zealously promoted this object. Theinfluence of Illiricus Flacius was however over

come, and foreign malevolence would not have

injured the accomplishment of the union, if it had

not been equally impeded by domestic agitation.

The Bohemian Brethren established their church

at Thorn as early as in 1549, although they

could not publicly perform divine service. Mor-

genstern, the Lutheran pastor of St. Mary s Morgenstem,i |

. , i -. f. , the Lutheranchurch in that place, a man or a quarrelsome pastor of

temper and of a narrow and bigoted mind, eyedwith aversion the Bohemian church independentof his jurisdiction, and endeavoured to subject it

to his authority. The brethren refused to ac

knowledge his pretensions, and persisted in main-

*Illiricus Flacius, whose real name was Francowich, was a

Slavonian, born in 1520, at Albona in Illyria. After having

studied under Luther and Melancthon, he became, in 1544,

professor of Hebrew at Wittenberg; whence having been

driven twice, he received the professorship of divinity at Jena,

in 1557. The theological quarrels in which he took a violent

part, exposed him to many persecutions, and obliged him

frequently to change the place of his residence. He died in

1575, and he acquired a justly earned reputation for having

been the founder of the Cenlurice Magdeburgensis, (the first

Protestant work on Ecclesiastical History.)

2 15 2

372 SKETCH OF THE

taining their ancient confession, as well as their

ecclesiastical discipline, much more strict and

pure than that by which the Lutherans were

governed at that time. After many delays, Lau-

rentius, minister of the Bohemians, openly stated

the reasons wherefore they refused to submit

their congregation to the direction of the Luthe

rans. He declared that there was no real reform

of manners amongst the followers of the Augustanconfession ;

that their priests could not, on

account of their not very pious life, serve as

patterns to the church; that this church did not

possess an organized hierarchy, that a great

disunion prevailed amongst its members, and

that its doctrines and ceremonies were in a state

of confusion. Finally, the Bohemians com

plained that the Lutheran clergy were appointed

by civil authorities, regarding it as injurious to

the independence as well as the spiritual direc

tion of the church. Laurentius did not, how

ever, decidedly reject a union, but he referred it

to the supreme authority of his church. Mor-

genstern, provoked by this opposition to his au

thority, attacked the Bohemians from the pulpit

and charged them with heresy. After some

discussions the Bohemians resolved, for the sake

of maintaining peace amongst the Protestants, to

submit their church to the authority of the Lu

therans, but they stipulated for the preservation

of its internal organization. This compact was


made at the conference of the 8th October 1563.

Many Bohemians, however, avoided the Lutheran

service, which caused Morgenstern to preach

against them some very harsh sermons. Since

that time the Bohemian church of Thorn seemsto have dwindled away, as Lutheranism became

entirely predominant at that place; and Morgenstern resigned also his functions in 1567,

perhaps being compelled to take this step byhis ungovernable temper, which created him

many enemies.

The Lutherans continued to show on many The Lutheran

occasions their ill will to the Bohemians, but at Souses8 "

their synod, assembled at Posnania on the 28th Brethrenfan

January 1567, it was manifested with particular .main*ningHeretical te-

violence. Erasmus Gliczner, superintendent of nets-

the Lutheran churches of Grand Poland, who

presided over that synod, supposed that the

Bohemians might be prevailed upon to frame

their confession entirely according to the Lutheran tenets, and he urged the Bohemian

representatives, Laurentius and Israel, to acceptthe confession of Augsburg, representing that

it was received by the Protestants of Germany.Israel did not attack the above-mentioned con

fession, but he defended that of his church as

untainted by any errors contrary to the Gospel,and which, by submitting to the dogmaticaldefinitions of the Lutheran divines, would by the

same acknowledge that it had been hitherto in

374 SKETCH OF THE

error. The Bohemians demanded that the Lu

therans should point out those differences and

errors of their church, by which they were

offended, and promised to give a satisfactory

answer to all the objections. The synod pro

mised to enumerate the dogmatical errors of

the Bohemian church, and to give a judgmentof their confession. The synod did not adopt,

however, any resolution to that purpose during

its meetings, at it was only after they had been

concluded that the Bohemians received a string

of accusations against their confession. Theywere written by Morgenstern, and there is a

doubt whether he had not done it without the

authorization of the synod. The Bohemian

church was accused of the following errors :

That it did not believe that Christ was invisibly

present on the earth;that its doctrine concerning

the mission of the Holy Ghost was very near that

of the Tritheists, because they believed that he

dwelt amongst the faithful in lieu of the personal

presence of Christ. That it considered itself as

the only one Catholic orthodox church. That

its doctrine about repentance was erroneous,

as they maintained that contrition, which is the

first part of repentance, was produced by faith,

whilst on the contrary faith followed contrition.

That it exacted from the catechumens a repetition

of the promise made at their baptism, which

was in some measure a repetition of the baptism


itself, and a papistical and anabaptistical error;

that it ascribed salvation only to good works,and consequently condemned the confession of

Augsburg, which maintains that good worksare not necessary for obtaining salvation, because

it was wrought solely by faith. It maintained

that sermons were not the word of God; that

it did not teach, with the orthodox church, that

man was justified only by the grace of God.

That the same church, by its confession presented in 1504 to Vladislav Jaguellon, kingof Bohemia, established in common with the

Antichrist seven sacraments;that it denied the

real and true presence of Christ under the figure

of bread and wine;and finally, that it rejected

the civil authorities, and instituted for its members its own independent jurisdiction.*

The Bohemians immediately published an Answer of the

answer to that accusation. They expressed that Brethren to

their church did not deny the invisible presenceof Jesus Christ in this world

;that its doctrine

about the Holy Ghost was in accordance with

the Gospel of St. John, chapter xiv. ver. 26,

and chap. xvi. ver. 7;

that the Bohemian

* These accusations were embodied in a work entitled :

" Arnica et fraterna adnotatio ncevorum et vcrborum minus recte

positorum, in confessioncfratrtim quos Valdenses vacant, proposita

in synodo Posnanice, 28 Junii 1567, cclcbrato a ministris con-

fcssionce Augustana iisdem fratribus Valdcnsibus in duodccim

paries distincta."

376 SKETCH OF THE

church considered itself only as a part of the

Catholic church, and called its own that number

of faithful who were under its superintendence.It maintained that repentance should be preceded

by the acknowledgment of the law and of sin

(fides generalis), but that contrition was followed

by confidence (fides specialis}. A catechumen was

obliged on approaching the communion table to

renew the obligation which the sponsors had

accepted for him at his baptism. Good works

were considered as fruits of a living faith, which

every Christian was obliged to do;not that he

might obtain by this the pardon of his sins, but

in order to prove his obedience to God and the

sincerity of his faith. Sermons in accordance

with the Gospels are the word of God. It is

grace and not good works which operates sal

vation. The Bohemian church at the time of

Huss admitted seven sacraments ;but the confes

sion presented to king Ferdinand acknowledged

only two, viz. the baptism and the eucharist,

whilst the apology of the Augustan confession

admitted, besides the two above-mentioned sa

craments, that of absolution. The Bohemian

church believed that the eucharist was received

only sacramentally by the spirit, and not car

nally. It acknowledged the civil magistrates,

although it endeavoured to settle minor diffe

rences amongst their members by its own autho-


rities, leaving the more important to the lawsof the country.* This apology of the Bohemianchurch did not satisfy the Lutherans, who foundtherein some obscurity, and pretended that it wasnot in accordance with a strictly evangelicalconfession. It was therefore agreed on both

sides that it should be submitted to the judgment of the divines of Wittenberg, which wasto be final

;and should it prove favourable, no

new objections against the union of the Bohemian and Lutheran churches of Poland were

to be raised.

The Bohemian church deputed Laurentius,and gave him as an assistant John Polykarpus.

They were most favourably received, February18th 1568, by the theological faculty of Witten

berg, composed of Paul Eber, at that time dean

of the faculty, George Major, Paul Crellius, and

the celebrated Caspar Peucer,t who, although he

was not in orders, exerted a great influence

* This answer is entitled :

"

Responsio brcvis et sincera

fratrum quos Valdenses vacant ad ncevos ex apologia ipsorum

exceptos a ministris conjessioni Augustance, fyc* fyc"It was

written by Laurentius.

f Caspar Peucer, son-in-law of Melancthon, born at Bautzen

in Saxony, 1525, was one of the most learned men of his

time. Being accused of crypto-Calvinism, or of secretly main

taining the tenets of Calvin, he was thrown by the strict

Lutheran party into a severe prison, where he remained for

many years. When released, he retired to the duke of

Anhalt-Zerbst

378 SKETCH OF THE

The dispute is On matters connected with divinity. The apo-referred to the J

judgment of Wry of the Bohemian church was examined andthe divines of

Wittenberg, declared orthodox, and in accordance with thewho decide it

in favour of the confession of Augsburg. Eber said, in a speechBohemians.

which he held on that occasion," the brethren

of Bohemia and Moravia professed since long time

a pure doctrine; they believe the same that we

do, although they have retained some outward

ceremonies, dissimilar from those which are used

by us. They are neither Anabaptists nor enemies

of the faith. It is wrong to act against them

either in public or in private, and to abuse them

from the pulpits. They are our brethren, and

deserving of our Christian good- will."

The school of Wittenberg did not exercise at

that time a decisive authority over the Lutheran

churches, of which many accused it, as also of

leaning to th^ doctrines of the Helvetian church,

or being, as it was called, infected by Philipism.*

The divines of Wittenberg felt their delicate posi

tion, and Eber, in promising to the delegates of the

Bohemian church a most satisfactory evidence of

Anhalt-Zerbst, and died in 1602, as his phisician. He was

no less distinguished by his science, than by the morality of

his character.

* Melancthon was much suspected of a strong bias to the

doctrine of Calvin, about the Lord s supper, and these opinions,

which were entertained by several divines of Wittenberg, were

called on that account Philipism (from Philip Melancthon),

<?r crypto-Calvinism.


their orthodoxy, did not conceal from them his

fears that it might not produce the desired effect.

" The school of Wittenberg"

said he,"

is unable

to exact obedience from those seditious minds,

whose unbridled turbulence it is impossible to

control by any restraint." He deplored at the

same time the dissensions amongst the Lutheran

churches and their pretended followers, express

ing that he should prefer a quiet retreat to the

direction of the school of Wittenberg. In his

letter addressed to Israel, chief of the Bohemian

church in Poland, he bitterly complained of those

disturbers, who by their falsehoods and scurrility

disturbed the peace of the church, and like rabid

dogs did not spare even the dead. The evidence

of the school of Wittenberg, signed by P. Eber,

G. Major, and Crellius, may be considered as a

sentence passed on the accusations of the Luthe

ran synod of Posnania against the Bohemian

church of Poland. After having deplored that

the followers of the confession of Augsburg, had

caused a disunion amongst the Protestant churches,

it declared that the confession of the Bohemian

church contained a pure doctrine, and that it

had no obscurities ;that the Bohemian and

Lutheran churches were for a long time united

by the bonds of a spiritual community ;and that

Luther himself had solemnly revoked, in 1542, the

unfavourable opinion which he had expressed on a

former occasion, and had given the most flattering

380 SKETCH OF THE

evidence in its favour.* It firmly declared, that the

accusations of the synod of Posnania were null

and void, and recommended to those who had

preferred them, that henceforward they should

be more just, as was becoming the teachers of a

divine religion.

The sentence of the school of Wittenbergseems to have produced a better effect than its

framers had anticipated, and the Lutherans

desisted after that time from their attacks on

the Bohemian church. The union between the

Protestant churches of Poland was now rapidly

advancing, and the town of Sandomir was chosen

for the convocation of a synod, where the de

puties of the above-mentioned churches were to

meet together in order to accomplish that important work.

The year 1 569 was marked by one of the most

important events of our history, the union of

Poland and Lithuania, accomplished by the Diet

of Lublin.f The principal noblemen belonging

* Vide page 148.

f Lithuania and Poland were hitherto united only by a com

mon sovereign, who was hereditary in the first and elective in

the second of those countries. By the act of the union the

king resigned his hereditary rights to Lithuania, and became

elective monarch of both the countries, whose legislative bodywas united into one, although their administration, laws, and

military establishment remained separate. This order of things

lasted, with a few modifications, till the dissolution of Poland.


to the three Protestant communions of Poland,assembled at that Diet, resolved to promote by all

means a union of their respective churches, andto accomplish it in the following year, expectingthat Sigismund Augustus, who had many times

expressed a wish to see such a union effected,

would at last be decided to embrace Protestant

ism. The king gave at that Diet a kind of

solemn countenance to Protestantism, by assist

ing with all his court, senate, and foreign minis

ters, at the funeral of a Protestant, the grand

general of the crown, Sieniawski, a celebrated

warrior, who died at the advanced age of eighty-one.

The synod of Posnania, February 13th 1570,

and that of Vilna, March 2d in the same year,

prepared the ground for the intended union by

removing many difficulties thrown in its wayby the Lutheran divines.

The synod of Sandomir was composed of seve- The synod ofiTi . . Sandomir, in

ral noblemen and ministers belonging to the 1570, effects

three Protestant churches of Poland. Thosewho held anti-Trinitarian doctrines were exclud

ed from any participation in its deliberations.

Myszkowski, palatine of Cracow, Zborowski,

palatine of Sandomir, and Stanislav Ivan Kar-

minski, were elected from the lay members, as

presidents of the synod, and from the clergy,

Gilowski and Prazmowski, ministers of the

Helvetian church, and Sokolowski, minister of

382 SKETCH OF THE

the same confession, was chosen secretary. The

meetings of the synod began on the 9th April,

and lasted till the 14th of the same month.

Great difficulties were raised by the two bro

thers, Erasmus and Nicholaus Gliczner, who

were the leaders of the Lutheran party, and

who insisted on the confession of Augsburg

being received by the Helvetian as well as the

Bohemian churches. This, of course, could not

be acceded to by the other parties, and there

was great danger that the synod would have

separated without having attained the object

of its convocation. At last, the efforts of the

palatines of Cracow and Sandomir (Myszkow-ski and Zborowski), who entreated the parties

not to injure by their dissensions the cause of

the Reformation in the presence of such a

formidable enemy as the Roman Catholic

church, and who at the same time hinted at the

possibility that the king himself might join

that cause, having been hitherto prevented from

making that step by the deplorable dissensions

which divided the Protestants amongst them

selves, produced the desired effects;the Luthe

rans desisted from their opposition, and the

following agreement between the representa

tives of the Helveto-Bohemian and Lutheran

churches of Poland was signed on the 14th

April 1570.


" Act of the religious union between the Act of the con.

churches of Grand and Little Poland, Russia,f

Lithuania and Samogitia, which had hitherto

appeared to differ from each other in respect

to the confessions of Augsburg, Bohemia, and

Switzerland, concluded at Sandomir on the 14th

April 1570.

" After many and long disputes with the sects

of Tritheists, Ebionites and Anabaptists,* and

having been delivered by divine mercy from all

those great and deplorable contentions, the

reformed orthodox churches of Poland, which

(according to the report of the enemies of the

truth and Gospel), do not appear to be una

nimous in several points and formula of their

doctrine, have resolved, from love of peace and

concord, to convoke a synod, and to testify a

" Consensus mutuus in religionis Christianas capitibus, inter Consensus

ecclesias Maioris et Minoris Poloniae. Russiae. Lithuania?, et Sa- Sandwnirien-sis.

mogitiae, etc., quae juxta confessionem Augustanam, Fratrum

Bohemiarum, et Helveticam, aliquomodo a se dissentire vide-

bantur; factus in synodo Sandomiriensi, anno domini 1570,

14 Aprilis."

Posteaquam diu multumque cum sectariis Tritheistis, Ebio-

nistis, Anabaptistis conflictatum erat, ac tandem divina favore

extat, tantisque certaminibus et deplorandis contentionibus

emeruimus visum ut iisdem ecclesias Poloniis reformatis et or-

thodoxis, quae in quibusdam capitibus et formulis doctrinae

(hostibus veritatia et evangelii) unanime consentire videbantur,

* By these names were designated the Anti-Trinitarians.

384 SKETCH OF THE

complete unanimity amongst themselves. Wehave therefore held a friendly and Christian

conference, and established with united hearts

the following points: Firstly, that neither we

who have delivered at the present synod our creed,

nor the Bohemian Brethren, had ever believed

that the followers of the confession of Augsburgmaintained other than pious and orthodox doc

trines about God, the Holy Trinity, the incar

nation of the Son of God, the justification, and

other principal points of our religion. In the

same manner the followers of the confession of

Augsburg have sincerely testified that they do

not find in the creed of our churches, as well

as in that of the Bohemian Brethren (whomsome ignorant persons call Waldensians), anydoctrines about God, the Holy Trinity, the

pacis et concordiae studio synodum convocare, atque consensio-

nem mutuam testari. Quare, habita collatione arnica et Chris

tiana, ac junctis compositisque animis consentimus in haec

capita.

"Primum, quemadmodum et nos qui in praesenti synodoconfessionem nostram edidimus, et fratres nunquam credidimus,

eos qui Augustanam confessionem amplectantur, aliter quampie et orthodoxe sentire de Deo et sancta Trinitate atque incar-

natione filii Dei, et justificatione nostra, aliisque capitibus

praecipuis fidei nostrse : Ita etiam ii, qui Augustanam confessio

nem sequuntur, professi sunt candide et sincere se vicissim

tarn de nostrarum ecclesiarum, quam ac de Fratrum Bohemia-

rum (quas quidam rerum ignari Waldenses vocant), confes-

sione de Deo et sancta Trinitate, incarnatione filii Dei, justifica-


incarnation of the Son of God, the justification,

and other principal points of Christian religion

which are not in accordance with true orthodoxyand the pure word of God.

"At the same time we have entered into a

mutual and sacred obligation to defend unani

mously, and according to the injunctions of the

word of God, this our covenant in the true and

pure religion of Christ against the followers

of the Roman church, the sectarians, as well as

all the enemies of truth and Gospel." What concerns the unfortunate dispute

about the Lord s Supper, we have agreed to

maintain the meaning of the words of our Lord

Jesus Christ, as they have been expounded by the

fathers of the church, and particularly by Ireneus,

who says,* that this mystery consists of two

things one earthly, and the other heavenly. Wedo not say that they are only elements or vain

symbols, but that at the same time they are, in

tione, et aliis primariis capitibus fidei Christianas, nil agnoscere,

quod sit absonum ab orthodoxa veritate et puro verbo Dei.

t(Ibique, sancte invicem polliciti sumus, unanimiter secun-

dum regulam verbi Dei, nos defensuros consensum hunc mu-

tuum in vera et pura Christi religione contra pontificios, contra

sectaries, contra denique omnes hostes evangelii et veritatis.

" Deinde vero, quantum ad infelix illud dissidium de Coena

Domini attinet, convenimus in sententia verborum Domini nostri

Jesu Christi, ut ilia orthodoxe intellecta sunt a Patribus, ac

imprimis Irenoeo, qui duabus rebus, scilicet terreno et ccelesti,

hoc mysterium constare dixit : Neque elementa signave nuda

VOL. I. 2 C

386 SKETCH OF THE

fact, sufficient to the believers, and impart byfaith what they signify. And in order to express

ourselves with more precision and clearness, we

have agreed to believe and to confess that the

substantial presence of Christ is not only signi

fied, but really represented in the communion

to those who receive it (vescentibus), and that

the body and blood of our Lord are distributed

and given with the symbols of the thing itself,

which, according to the nature of sacraments,

are by no means bare signs."

But, that no disputes should originate from a

difference of expressions, it has been resolved to

add to the articles inserted into our confession,

the article of the confession of the Saxon churches

relating to the Lord s Supper, which was sent in

1551 to the council of Trent, and which we

acknowledge as pious, and do receive. Its ex

pressions are as follows :* The Baptism and the

et vana ilia esse asserimus, sed simul, re ipsa, credentibus ex-

hibere et prcestare fide, quod significant, denique, ut expressius

clariusque loquamur, convenimus, ut credamus et confiteamur

substantialem praesentiam Christi non significari duntaxat, sed

vere in ccena eo vescentibus repraesentari, distribui et exhibere

corpus et sanguinem Domini, symbolis adjectis rei ipsi, minime

dudis, secundum sacramentorum naturam." Ne vero diversitas formularum loquendi contentionem ali-

quam pariat, placuit praeter articulum qui est insertus nostrce

confessioni, mutuo consensu adscribere articulum confessionis

Saxonicarum ecclesiarum de Ccena Domini, ad Tridentinum

concilium, anno domini M,DLI missae. Quern etiam pium

REFORMATION IN POLAND, 387

Lord s Supper are signs and testimonies of grace,

as it has been said before, which remind us

of the promise and of the redemption, and show

that the benefits of the Gospel belong to all

those who make use of these rites, &c."

Moreover, that none is admitted to the

communion table if he has not previously been

examined and absolved by the pastor or his

assistant. In such examinations less informed

people (rudiores) are examined and instructed in

all the doctrines of religion before they receive

absolution. We also teach men that the sacra

ments are acts established by God, and that,

unless used as it is instituted by the Lord, these

things are not of themselves sacraments. But

in the established use of the communion, Christ

is substantially present, and the body and blood

of Christ are truly given to those who receive

agnoscimus et recipimus, cujus confessionis haec sunt verba :

Et baptismus et Ccena Domini sunt pignora et testimonia gra-

tiae, ut antea dictum est, quae de promissione et tota redemptionenos commonefaciunt et ostendunt, beneficia evangelii ad sin-

gulos pertinere qui his ritibus utuntur, etc. Item nee admit-

tuntur ulli ad communionem, nisi prius a pastore aut collega

ejus auditi sint, et absoluti. In hac exploratione interrogantur

et erudiuntur rudiores de tota doctrina, et deinde absolutio pro-

mulgatur. Docentur etiam homines, sacramenta esse actiones

divinitus institutas, et extra usum institutum res ipsas non habere

rationem sacramenti, sed in usu institute, in hac communione

vere et substantialiter adesse Christum et vere exhiberi sumenti-

2 c 2

388 SKETCH OF THE

the communion, and all the words of that

article.

" And in order to confirm this holy and

mutual consent by a strong bond, we have agreed

that, as the Saxon churches have acknow

ledged our confession delivered in this synod,

as well as that of the Bohemian Brethren, to be

orthodox, we are to act towards them with the

same Christian love, and equally declare them

orthodox. We will at the same time abolish and

bury in eternal oblivion all the contentions,

troubles, and dissensions, wrhich have hitherto

impeded the progress of the Gospel, not without

a great offence to many pious souls, and which

have afforded to our enemies opportunities for

calumniating us, and for attacking our true Chris

tian religion ;but on the contrary, we will oblige

ourselves to maintain peace and tranquillity, to

bus corpus et sanguinem Christi. Testari Christum, quod sit

in eis et faciat eos sibi membra et quod abluerit eos sanguine &c.

Omnia hujus articuli verba integra. Hujus autem sancti mu-

tuique consensus, vinculum fore arbitrate sumus, conveni-

musque, ut quemadmodum illi nos, nostrasque Ecclesias et

confessionem nostram in hac synodo publicatam, et Fratrum,,

orthodoxas esse testantur. Sic etiam nos illorum ecclesias,

eodem Christiano amore prosequamur et orthodoxas fateamur :

extremumque vale dicamus et altum silentium imponimus

omnibus rixis, distractionibus, dissidiis, quibus Evangelii

cursus, non sine maxima multorum piorum offensione, impedi-

tus est et unde adversariis nostris, non levis calumiandi et verae

Christianas religioni nostrae contradicendi, occasio sit subminis-


live in mutual love, and conjointly promote, in

accordance with this our brotherly union, the

edification of the church." At the same time, we conjointly oblige

ourselves to invite and persuade our brethren

to join, maintain, and promote this our una

nimous and Christian union, particularly by the

audition of the word of God and the use of

sacraments with the congregations belonging to

one as well as to the other confession;maintain

ing, however, the order of the discipline as well

as the rites of every church, as the present union

leaves free to every church its rites and cere

monies;because it is of little importance what

rites are observed, provided the doctrine itself

and the foundation of our faith and salvation

trata. Quin potius paci et tranquillitati publicse studere, chari-

tatem mutuam,, et operas mutuas ad aedificationem ecclesia?, pro

fraterna conjunctione nostra, prsestare debemus.

ft Ad hae recipimus mutuo consensu, omni studio nostris

Fratribus omnibus persuasuros, atque eos invituros ad hunc

Christianum et unanimem consensum amplectendum, colendum

et conservandum, illumque alendum obsignandumque,, praecipue

auditione verbi (frequentando tarn hujus quam alterius confes-

sionis cretus) et sacramentorum usu : observato tamen recto

ordine et gradu tarn discipline quam consuetudinis unius-

cujusque ecclesiae.

4< Ritus autem et ceremonias unius cujusque ecclesiae,, liberos

hanc concordia et conjunctione relinquimus. Non enim mul-

tum refert, qui ritus observatur, modo tota et incorrupta existat

ipsa doctrina et fundamentum fidei ac salutis nostra1

. Quern-

390 SKETCH OF THE

remain pure and unadulterated ;which is also

taught by the confessions of Augsburg and

Saxony, and which we have also expressed in our

own confession delivered at this present synodof Sandomir. Wherefore, we promise mutually

to assist ourselves with advice and actions of

Christian love, and to promote by all possible

means the growth of the orthodox and reformed

churches in Poland, Lithuania, Samogitia, &c.

as members of the same body. And when they

(the churches of Lithuania and Samogitia) in

tend to hold general synods, they shall inform

us of it, and they likewise shall make no diffi

culties in appearing at our general synods, when

they may be called to them. In order to give to

this agreement and brotherly society the necessary

stability, we think it proper that we should as-

admodum et ipsa confessio Augustana et Saxonica, de ea re

decent : et in hac confessione nostra, in praesenti synodoSandomiriensi publicata, id ipsum expressimus. Quamobremconsilia officiave charitatis rautua inter nos conferri et in poste-

rum de conservatione et incremento omnium totius regni,

Lithuania^ Samogitiae, piarum, orthodoxarum, et Reformatarum

ecclesiarum, tanquam de uno corpore consulere, polliciti sumus

ac recipimus. Et si quando synodos generales celebrabunt,

nobis quoque significent, et ad nostras etiam generales vocati

non gravatim veniant, si opus fuerit, atque ut Colophonem huic

consensui et mutuae concordiae imponamus, ad hanc fraternam

societatem conservandam, tuendamque non incommodum fore

putamus,in locum certum convenire, ubi una ex mutuis confes-

sionibus,, compendium corporis doctrinae (improbitate hostium


semble at certain places, to make there (wheneverthe enemies of the truth compel us to do so)a summary of our confessions, and publish it, in

order to silence invidious people, to the greatconsolation of the pious, doing it in the name of

all the reformed churches of Poland, Lithuania,

and Samogitia which agree with our confession." After having mutually given each other our

hands, we have made a sacred promise faithfully

to maintain the peace and faith, and to promote it

every day more and more for the edification of

the word of God, and carefully to avoid all

occasions of dissension.

"

Finally, we do oblige ourselves not to seek

our own interest, but, as it becomes the true

servants of God, to seek only the glory of our

Saviour Jesus Christ, and to spread the truth of

his Gospel by words and deeds.

veritatis ad id adacti) eliceremus et in publicum ederemus, ut

invidorum hominum ora obturarentur, cum maximo omnium

piorum solatio, sub titulo omnium ecclesiarum Polonicarum

reformatarum, et Lithuanicarum, et Samogiticarum nostrse con-

fessioni consentientium.

" Datis igitur junctisque dextris sancte promisimus et reci-

pimus invicem omnes, fidem et pacem colere, favere et in dies

ad aedificationem Regni Dei, magis magisque amplificare velle

omnesque occasiones distractionis ecclesiarum evitaturos. De-

nique se immemores et oblitos sui ipsius, ut veros Dei ministros

decet, solius Jesu Christi salvatoris nostri gloriam promoturos

et Evangelii ipsius veritatem propagaturos, tuni dictis, turn

factis, recipimus. Quod ut fcelix, rectum, firmumquc sit in

392 SKETCH OF THE

" And that it may last for ever prosperously,

firm, and without infraction, we ardently pray to

God the Father, who is the author and the

abundant source of all comfort and peace, who

has snatched us and our churches from the dense

darkness of popery, and gifted them with the light

of his pure word and holy truth, that he should

bless this our holy peace, concord, union, and

covenant, to the glory of his name and edifi

cation of his church. Amen." Behold how good and how pleasant it is for

brethren to dwell together in amity."Psalm 133.

perpetuum, oramus ardentibus votis Deum Patrem totius

consolationis et pacis auctorem et fontem uberrimum,, qui nos

nostrasque ecclesias ex densis Papatu tenebris eripuit, donavit-

que puro verbi sui et Sacramento veritatis lumine. Hancquenostram sanctam pacem, confessionem, conjunctionem et

unionem benedicere, ad sui nominis gloriam et ecclesiae aedifica-

tionem velit. Amen." Ecce quam bonum et quam jucundum habitare fratres in

unum. Psalm 133.

This act was signed by the following names:

Stariislav Myszkowski, palatine of Cracow ; Peter Zborowski, palatine of Sandomir

;Stanislav

Bninski, in the name of Lukas Gorka, palatine of

Posnania, and in that of John Tomicki, castellan

of Gnezno, as well as in the name of all the

churches of the confession of Augsburg in Grand


Poland : Stanislav Chrzonsto\vski, minister of

the Helvetian church of Jazlowietz, in the nameof George Jazlowietzki, palatine of Russia, and

all the Protestants of that province : Sigismund

Myszkowski, starost of Oswiecim;

Erasmus

Gliczner, superintendent of the churches of the

Augsburgian confession, in his own name and in

that of all his fellow-ministers in Grand Poland :

Nicholaus Gliczner, Lutheran senior of the dis

trict of Posnania; Andreas Prazmowski, minister

of the Helvetian church of Radziejow in Cujavia;

Symon Theophilus Turnowski, diaconus of the

Bohemian Brethren; Stanislav Sarnicki, senior of

the Helvetian churches of the district of Cracow ;

James Sylvius, senior of the same churches in

the district of Chenciny; Paul Gilowski, idem

of the districts of Zator and Oswiecin;Matthias

Rakow, minister of Krylow, in the name of the

nobles of the palatinate of Belz : Stanislav Ivan

Karminski, elected rector, or notarius colloqui,

of the synod ;Daniel Chrobewski and Adam

Rozanka, doctors of medicine, both aldermen of

the town of Cracow; Christopher Trecius, senior

of the Helvetian churches of the town of Cracow ;

Stanislav Marcianus, minister of the same

church of Dziewaltow (in Lithuania), and deputy

of prince Wisniowietski; Walenty Brzozowski,

minister of Dobrkow, senior of the Helvetian

churches of Podgorze ;Andreas of Kruswitza,

minister of the same confession at Lisovo in

394 SKETCH OF THE

Cujavia; Peter Tarnowski, minister at l)em-

bnitza.*

Enactments of According to an agreement which was made

Posnan?a, at the same synod, another meeting of that kind

forthergdeve-

awas convoked at Posnania on the 18th May

thethe same year, in order to confirm and develope

the enactments of the synod of Sandomir. It

consisted of many noblemen and ministers be-

* This consensus has had the following editions : 1st." Con

sensus sive concordia in Jtde et religione Christiana, inter eccle-

sias evangelicas majoris et minoris Polonia, magnique ducatus

Lithuania et cceterarum ejus regni provinciarum, primo Sando-

mirits anno 1570, in synodo generali sancita et deinceps in aliis

ac demum Vladislammsi generali synodo 1583, confirmata et

Serenissimis Polonice regibus Augusta, Henrico, et Stephana

oblata, nunc c&tera communi voto in publicum typis edita anno

1586. 12rao." 2d edition at Thorn, 1592, with a Polish translation

by S. T. Turnowski 3d edition at Thorn, with the addition of

the enactments of the synod, which was held in that place in

1595. The 4th edition ofthis consensus is added to the History

of the Bohemian and Moravian churches, by Camerarius

Heydelberg, in 1605. 5th edition, with a Polish translation,

published at Baranow, in 1628. 6th edition, at Frankfort on

the Oder, in 1704, with a German translation. It has been

besides printed in several ecclesiastical works, and the learned

D. E. Jablonski published in Latin a history of that celebrated

transaction. A diary of that synod, written in Polish by Sy-mon Theophilus Turnowski, then diaconus, and afterwards

senior, of the Bohemian Brethren in Grand Poland, was re

printed in the History of the Churches of the Bohemian

Brethren in Grand Poland, by Joseph Lukaszewicz, at Pos

nania, in 1835 a work full of deep research and most va

luable information.


longing to the Bohemian as well as the Lutheran church; as, for instance, Lucas Gorka,

palatine of Posnania ;John Tomicki, castellan of

Gnezno; George Israel, Laurentius, Erasmus,

and Nicolaus Gliczners, &c. &c. The Helve

tian churches of Little Poland did not send

any special deputies, partly because they consi

dered the Bohemian Brethren as forming part

of their body, partly because they had there the

ministers of their own churches in Cujavia. This

synod removed many doubts which had been left

by that of Sandomir, and adopted the following

resolutions, comprehended in twenty articles :

The consensus of Sandomir wras confirmed.

The ministers of both confessions were to admi

nister the sacraments, to preach, and to performdivine service according to the rites and customs

of their respective churches, by which nobody

ought to be offended. Wherever there was a

minister established, the patron of that placewas not to call in the minister of another

congregation without the consent of the local

one. The Lord s Supper was to be understood

in the same manner as it had been expressed

by the synod of Sandomir respecting the article

of the Saxon confession sent to the council of

Trent in 1551;and all expressions, words, and

explanations differing from that confession were

to be avoided. The ministers of one confession

were not, under any pretence whatever, to draw

396 SKETCH OF THE

the members of another confession to their own.

The elders of both the churches were to promote

by all their means the union and the interest

of those churches, and to hold for that purpose

synods once a year, and more when it shall be

necessary. Every dispute between the ministers

of the two confessions, or members of their

respective congregations, respecting changes to

be introduced into the doctrine, rites, discipline,

&c. of one of their churches, were to be avoided,

and such things were to be left exclusively to

the ministers of that church to which they be

longed. All sins prohibited by the word of

God were to be reprehended by sermons as well

as by the pastoral superintendence of the preachers of that word

;such sins as were con

sidered idolatry, homicide, greediness, usury,

discord, quarrels, maledictions, drunkenness,

revels, dancing, gambling, immodest dresses,

and all carnal evil passions and crimes which

are mentioned by the prophets, the apostles, and

the Saviour himself. The synod approved of and

thought it indispensable that a discipline and

ecclesiastical penalty, conformable to the word

of God, should be inflicted on all the trespassing

ministers and all the members of the church of

God, without any regard to persons, and that

it should be done not only in words but in deeds,

according to the ordinance of our Lord Jesus

Christ and the example of the apostles. It was


permitted that the ministers and the membersof one congregation should, whenever it was

necessary, exhort the ministers and the membersof the other congregation to repentance and

godliness. Each pastor was to watch over his

own flock, and to pay a real attention to the

members of his congregation.

The ministers of one confession were not to

admit to the communion table the members of

the other confession, without the testimony of the

pastor to whose congregation they properly be

longed, except at the time of a diet, of a synod,and for strangers. Those who had been excluded

from one congregation were not to be admitted

to the communion in the other, before they were

reconciled with the church to which they had

given offence. The ministers who had been

deposed from their office, or excluded from one

congregation, were not to be received, absolved,

or reinstated in their office by the ministers of

the other congregation, but were to be left to the

judgment of their own church. The patrons of

the churches were not to exact from the ministers

any changes of rites and ceremonies without the

consent of the superior ministers. All popishrites and ceremonies were by degrees, but absolu

tely, to be abolished;such as, for instance, exor

cisms, images, relics of saints, superstitious use

of candles, consecration of herbs, standards,

golden and silver crosses, and similar other inven-

398 SKETCH OF THE

tions, that the word of God might not suffer by it;

and that they, the united Protestant churches,

might not appear to hold communion with the

Antichrist and approve of his abominations. If

a dispute was to arise between the ministers of

both the congregations, it was to be arranged by

friendly means ;and should it prove impossible, it

was to be referred to a general synod of all the

Protestant Polish churches ! The union of the

Protestant churches of Poland was indeed very

necessary, in order to oppose a new and formi

dable enemy by whom they were finally ruined;

we mean the Jesuits, who were about this time

introduced into Poland by Cardinal Hosius an

important event, of which we shall give an

account in the next chapter.

Note. We must not omit mentioning an attempt which was

made by the Bohemian Brethren, to spread their communion

in Moscovy. The same year (1570) Sigismund Augustus sent

an embassy to Ivan Vassilowich, Czar of Muscovy, and cele

brated for his tyranny, which was composed of four members ;

two of whom, John Krokowski, Palatine of Inowroclav, and

Raphael Leszczynski (whom we have often mentioned), be

longed to the Bohemian church. They took with them as their

chaplain John Rokita, minister of that church, who was

charged by the seniors of his church to endeavour to convert

the Czar of Muscovy, as well as his subjects. Rokita suc

ceeded in obtaining an audience from the Czar, and beingseated on an elevated place covered with rich tapestry, had a

public disputation with that monarch. The Czar addressed to

him several questions about his religious doctrines, which Ro-


CHAPTER X.

INTRODUCTION OF THE JESUITS INTO POLAND BY

CARDINAL IIOSIUS;

SKETCH OF THE CHARACTER

OF THAT PRELATE; DEATH OF SIGISMUND AUGUSTUS,

AND SKETCH OF HIS CHARACTER.

THE Roman Catholic party having exhausted

all the means they could dispose of in the coun

try against the Protestants, and seeing their

utter inability of longer maintaining their grounds

against the rapid progress of the Reformation,

the ultimate triumph of which in Poland seemed

to be now quite certain, sought and found assis

tance from abroad. Cardinal Hosius, the leader

of that party, considered with great justice, as the

only chance of saving Romanism from its im

pending destruction in Poland, to call in the

kita answered. His success was however limited to that au

dience ; and when the embassy was leaving Moscow, Rokita

received from the Czar a Slavonian book richly bound, and his

observations on Rokita s answers to his questions

400 SKETCH OF THE

newly-established order of the Jesuits, who

obeyed that call with alacrity, and hastened to

the rescue of their church, reduced already to the

very brink of ruin. Their efforts were crowned

with a success, glorious to Rome, deplorable to

Poland. But before we enter into a description

of the establishment of that celebrated order in

this country, we must say a few words concern

ing that remarkable individual who was chiefly

instrumental in bringing about that important

event.

sketch of HO- Stanislav Hosen (latinised Hosius) was born

chuara

s

cter.

andin 1504 at Cracow, from a German family, which

had acquired considerable wealth by trade. Hewas educated partly at Vilna and partly at

Cracow, but he completed his studies at Padua,

where he contracted an intimate friendship with

Reginald de la Pole (cardinal Polus) ; from

Padua he went to Bologna, where he took

a degree of doctor of law under Buoncompagno,afterwards Pope Gregory the Thirteenth. Havingreturned to his country, he was recommended by

the bishop of Cracow, Tomicki, to queen Bona,

who took him under her patronage and ensured

his rapid preferment. The king entrusted him

with the affairs of Prussia, and nominated him

canon of Cracow. He early made himself con-

spicious by his animosity against the Protestants;

however, in the beginning he did not attack

them himself, but only instigated other preachers


to declaim from the pulpit against their reli

gious innovations, imitating, as his biographer

(Rescius) says, "the prudence of the serpent."He

was created bishop of Culm, and intrusted with

important embassies to the emperor Charles the

Fifth and to Ferdinand king of the Romans, in

the course of which he visited Vienna, Brussels,

and Ghent, discharging the duties of his function

in a most creditable manner. Being nominated

bishop of Warmia, by which he became the chief

of the church of Polish Prussia, and acquireda great influence in that province, he strove in

vain to oppose the progress of Lutheranism,

which, in spite of all his efforts, rapidly spreadover that province, and became the persuasion

of the majority of its inhabitants. No RomanCatholic prelate had ever combated with more

zeal than Hosius the progress of the Reformation,

and he advocated the most violent measures for

its suppression. He carefully studied the polemical works written by the authors belongingto one Protestant confession against the follow

ers of another, and he skilfully took advantageof the arguments by which some of these writers

were infatuated enough to recommend the ap

plication of penal laws against those whoerred in religious matters. He did not scruple

repeatedly to advise that faith should not be

kept with heretics, and that it was necessary to

confute them not by arguments but by the

VOL. I. 2 D

402 SKETCH OF THE

authority of the magistrates.* He himself made

a full confession of his principles on that subject

in a letter which he addressed to the notorious

cardinal of Lotaryngia (Guise), congratulating

him on the murder of Coligny, the news of

which filled, as he says himself, his soul with an

incredible joy and comfort, and he thanked at

the same time the Almighty for the great boon

conferred on France by the slaughter of St.

Bartholomew, imploring him that he might show

equal mercy to Poland.^

Yet this prelate, who entertained such abomi

nable doctrines, was in every other respect

adorned with the highest qualities that honour

* " Nulla cum eis ineatur disputatio, sect simul cum eos

(hereticos) tales esse constitit, statim condemnenlur ,eos non

stylo sed sceptro magistratum coercendos esse." Hosii opera

page 620.

f" Cum illustrissimus Cardinalis Senonensis, pro sua in me

benevolentia et humanitate singulari, misso ad me nuncio me

eertiorem reddisset, extinctam esse tamen gravissimam illam

Galliarum pestem, per quam totis jam decem et amplius annis

innumerabilibus cladibus regnum illud affectum et in summas cola-

mitates adductumfuerat> Coligneum dico, quo uno haud scio, an

unquam tellus produxerit hominem pestilentiorem ; ita sum quasi

e gravi somno quodam expergefactus et ex tenebris in lucem quo-

dam modoproductus,ut incredibilem quondam animi recreationem

sentirem, prope modum, ut abstersus dolor animi, quo confec-

tus jam fere fueram, videretur : neque me tenere potui ; quin

exclamarem : Justus es Domine, et rectum est judicium tuum.

Quod enim potuit esse magis justum judicium ? Qucu major

esse justitia, quam ut quod aliis fecerat sceleratus ille, vicissim

illud


mankind; and although the eulogy of Bayle, whocalls him the greatest man that Poland ever

produced, is certainly overrated, there is but one

opinion about his eminent talents, piety, andvirtues. His faults were therefore not his own,but only the unavoidable consequence of the

precepts of his church, which he zealously but

conscientiously followed. His fervour for that

church was such, that he declared in one of his

polemical works that the Scriptures, if it were not

for the authority of the same church, would haveno more weight than the fables of Esop.* Hewas nominated cardinal by Pope Pius the Fourth

illud ab alio pateretur. Quam cuperem ut hoc ante decem annos

illi contigisset, priusquam adeo crudelefacinus illud perpetrassct.Verum Dei misericordice tempus presscribendum non est, quin

potius infinitas illi gratias agere debemus, quod eo tempore, quodilli maxime visum est opportunum, et a tanta peste palriam tuam

liberatam ct indignumfacinus infratrem tuum designatum, tandem

aliquando, quamvis leviore quam quod meritus erat, siccarius illc,

supplicio voluerit vindicatum. Quern ego prcecor ut gaudium hoc

tuum, in dies majore Icetitia constare voluerit ut Icetis novis quoti-

die succedant Icetiora. Simul et illud supplex ab co petere non

inlcrmitto quo meam quoque patriam misericordice sues oculis

respiciat, et ex novi regis electione, qui sit divines ejus majestati

grains et fortis Catholiccs Jidei defensor aliquod me consolationis

capere faciat, nulla mora longiore interposita."Vide Hosii

Epis. Carolo Cardinal! Lotharingo, gratulatur extinctem esse

hostem acerrimum evangelii Coligneum. Sublaci 4ta Septem-bris 1572. Hosii opera Colonise, 1639 11, 340.

* Vide Bayle, article Hosius.

2 D 2

404 SKETCH OF THE

in 1561, and appointed president of the council

of Trent, and he acquitted himself of this com

mission to the greatest satisfaction of the Pope.

Having been created grand penitentiary of the

church, he spent the last years of his life at

Rome, where he died in 1579, in the 76th year of

his age.*

His political Hosius was a no less consistent Romanist in

opinions.

p iitics than he was in religion. He maintained

that the subjects had no rights whatever, but

that they owed a blind submission to the so-

* The principal works of Hosius are : Confessio Catholicce

Fldei Christiana, vel potius explicatio confessionis, a patribus

facta, quce in synodo provinciali quce habita est Petricovice

anno 1551. Moguntiee 1557, vide note of page 172. Rescius,

his biographer, says that it was published in different

languages during the author s life time thirty-two times :" De

expresso verbo Dei" Dillingen, in 1551 ; the same in English :

tf Of the Expresse wordes of God : a shorte but a most excel-

lente treatyse, and very necessary for thistyme." Newly

translated into English, Lovan, by John Bogard in 1567.

"

Propugnatio Christiana Catholicceque doctrines." Antw. 1559.

"

Confutatio prolegomenon Brentii," Paris, 1560. The same

in English."A most excellent treatyse of the Begynnyng of

Heresyes in cure tyme. Translated out of Latin into English

by Richard Shacklock. Antw. 1565."" De communione sub

utraque specie"te De sacerdotum

conjugio."" De missa vul-

gari lingua celebranda." The best edition of his works is

considered that of Cologne, in 1584, which contains also his

letters, written to many eminent persons of his time. His

life, written by Rescius (Reszka), was published at Romein 1587.


vereign, who was responsible to none for his acts,

and that it was a sin to judge him.* Like all

other Romanist writers, he ascribed the political

innovations to the doctrines of the Reformation,and expressly stated that it was the reading of

the Scriptures which rendered people seditious,

and he particularly inveighed against those

women who read the Bible.|

Yet although he strongly advocated uncon

ditional submission to the will of the sovereign,

he departed himself from that principle whenever it became contrary to the interests of

Rome. Thus although the reformed church

of Cracow was erected in consequence of an

express authorization of the monarch, he en

deavoured to excite Krasinski, bishop of Cracow,to use every means for overturning that estab

lishment;and we shall have many opportunities

of bringing forward several instances of his utter

disregard of every principle whenever the in

terests of the Roman church were concerned.

His deep learning, which made him universally

* te Obcdientiam ccecam esse deberejustitia est ul pr&cepta

majorum non discutiantur. Prima sedis a nemine judiatur.

Principem subjcciorum judicio permitterc peccatum esse." ApudRescius, Vita Hosii, Romae, 1578.

f" Rude vulgus etiam et indiscretum intolerabili qucedam

superbia, manibus et pedibus illotis, impudenter ad sacrarum

lilterarum accederc, quin et stultas hoc mulierculas sibi arro-

gare videmus." Hosii opera, page 640.

406 SKETCH OF THE

considered as one of the first luminaries of the

Roman church, could not however free his mind

from the unchristian notions inculcated by the

same church, that voluntary self-torment is ac

ceptable to the Father of all mercy ;and being

a rigid observer of those practices which are

more in accordance with pagan rites than the

mild precepts of Christianity, and which that

church recommends, he frequently lacerated his

own body by severe flagellations, spilling his own

blood with the same fervour as he would have

spilled that of the opponents of the Pope.*

Such was the celebrated individual who, seeing

that all his efforts at combating the progress of

the Reformation in Poland were fruitless, adopt

ed a measure for which he deserved the eternal

gratitude of Rome, and the curses of Poland. Hecalled to his assistance the newly established

order of Jesuits, which, by its admirable organiza

tion, zeal, and activity, but chiefly perhaps by that

reckless disregard of every principle which stood

in its way to the attainment of its object, suc

ceeded in saving Romanism from impending ruin

over all Europe, and even in restoring its sway in

many piaces where it had already been annihilated.

introduction of The order despatched, as early as in 1558, one

Poia

jn

e

ds

.

uitsint0of their members, named Canisius,to Poland, with

the object of examining the state of the country.

* Vide Rescius.


Canisius reported that it was deeply infected

with heresy, ascribing that state ofthings chiefly to

the aversion of the king to repress Protestantism

by sanguinary measures.* Canisius had manyconferences with the heads of the Roman clergyin Poland, with the view of establishing his orderin that country ; but he returned without obtain

ing any positive result from his mission. It was

only in 1564 that Hosius, perceiving on his return

from Trent the increase of Protestantism in his

own diocese, addressed himself to the celebrated

general of the Jesuits, Lainez, with the requestof sending him some members of his order. Lai

nez immediately complied with that request, and

despatched several Jesuits from Rome, command

ing at the same time a few others from Germanyto join them. Hosius located these welcome

guests at Braunsberg, a little town situated in his

diocese, and richly endowed the nascent esta

blishment, which was soon to spread over all

Poland. An attempt was made in 1567 to intro

duce the Jesuits into Elbing ;but the Protestant

inhabitants of that town manifested such a violent

opposition against the admission of an order

* " Constans erat opinio indulgentiam Regis obesse quamplurimum. De severe impiis punicndis, scalpcloque coerccndi

pcstc sermonem rcspucbat omncm. Ea impunitatc ncquissimihomines abutcbantur.

"

Vide Historia Societatis Jesu. Ant.

Sachino, part ii. page 61.

408 SKETCH OF THE

which arrived with the avowed determination of

exterminating heresy, that Hosius, who deplored

the infatuation of Elbing, which, as he maintained,

rejected its own salvation, was obliged to desist

from his project. During the reign of Sigismund

Augustus, who seems not to have been favourably

disposed towards the Jesuits, they did not make

any rapid progress, and it was only six years after

their arrival in Poland that Konarski, bishop of

Posnania, induced by Plotina, papal nuncio in

Poland, established them in the above-mentioned

town;and having persuaded the authorities of

the city to give them the church of St. Stanislav,

with two hospitals and a school, endowed them

at the same time with an estate, and made them

a present of his library. They insinuated them

selves into the favour of the princess Anna, sister

of Sigismund Augustus, who promoted their inte

rests with all her influence, and it was probablyshe who induced her husband, king Stephen

Battory, to patronise that order. The primate

Uchanski, whom we have seen strongly inclined

towards the doctrines of the Reformation, en

deavoured, when the prospects of their speedyestablishment in Poland were marred by the

demise of Sigismund Augustus, to obliterate the

suspicions of Rome by the display of a great zeal

for its interests, and he became the great patron of

the new order. His example was followed by

many bishops, who relied for the defence of their


dioceses more on the intrigues of their new allies,

than on the efforts of the local clergy. The

rapid increase of the number and influence of the

Jesuits belongs to the epoch which is the subjectof the second volume of our work, and which is

only a continued picture of the unceasing in

trigues and agitation by which that order suc

ceeded in crushing the anti-Romanist party in

Poland, sacrificing the national prosperity and

the most vital interests of the country to the res

toration of papal supremacy, and we shall have

indeed but too many opportunities of recurringto that melancholy but instructive subject.

Sigismund Augustus died on the 7th July 1572, Death of su

at Knyszyn, a little town on the frontiers of Po-gulTus"

da.fd

U "

land and Lithuania, and which was a favourite character

lus

retreat of his. His demise without issue esta

blished in Poland practically the election of the

monarch, which already existed in its constitution,

but which was constantly made in favour of the

natural heir of the deceased sovereign, as long as

the Jaguellonian line continued uninterrupted.

Sigismund Augustus was endowed by nature

with many excellent qualities, which could not be

stifled even by the effeminate education which

his mother Bona Sforza gave him, as it seems, for

the purpose of converting him into a tool for her

schemes. His studies were, however, not neglect

ed, and he was a good mathematician, a profi

cient Latin scholar, and was perfectly master of

410 SKETCH OF THE

the German and Italian languages. He was also a

great patron of national literature and of learned

men, many of whom he attached to his person.

He was of a very kind and amiable disposition,

and strongly opposed, by principle as well as by

character, to every despotic and cruel measure.

His chief fault was a great irresolution of cha

racter, and want of decision, which exercised on

several occasions a prejudicial influence on the

affairs of the country. This indolence, which he

manifested on some political transactions of great

importance, did not, however, extend to the

private affairs of his subjects, to which he always

attended with an unwearied diligence. He was

very unfortunate in his domestic relations;and

as these relations were on the point of exercising

a decisive influence on the religious affairs of

Poland, we must not pass them over in silence.

Sigismund Augustus, who was born in 1520, mar

ried for the first time Elizabeth of Austria (daughter of Ferdinand, king of Hungary and afterwards

emperor, and niece to Charles the Fifth). She

was a beautiful, virtuous, and accomplished prin

cess; but, in spite of these advantages, she did

not secure the attachment of her husband, and

her mother-in-law, queen Bona Sforza, hated her

with such a violence, that the death of this unfor

tunate princess, which happened in 1545, excited

a strong suspicion of being caused by poison

administered to her at the instigation of the same


JBona. We have already described his second

marriage with Barbara Radziwill, and the opposition which it raised in the country. Barbara

died in 1551, and a general suspicion was raised

that queen Bona was again instrumental in the

death of her second daughter-in-law. The king

deeply regretted his much-beloved consort, and

preserved a fond remembrance of her during the

remainder of his life. His mother induced him

to marry, for the third time, Catherine of Austria,

dowager duchess of Mantua, and sister to his

first queen. This was a most unfortunate alliance,

as the new queen, who was of a plain exterior, and

moreover afflicted with epilepsy, soon inspired an

unsurmountable aversion in her royal husband,

who lived entirely separated from her. It is

indeed quite unaccountable what motives could

have induced Bona to promote the conclusion of

that preposterous marriage, for which it was neces

sary even to obtain a dispensation from the Pope,as the parties were related through the king s first

marriage. Be it as it may, this circumstance

was not only prejudicial to the happiness of the

monarch himself, but also to the interests of the

country, as the king dying without issue, the

realm was threatened with troubles resulting

from the contest of parties in the election of a

new sovereign. The leaders of the Protestants

thought that, by inducing Sigismund Augustus to

repudiate his consort, they would obviate that

412 SKETCH OF THE

danger, and moreover, accelerate a breach be

tween him and the court of Rome, which being

devoted to the Austrian interests, would take

the part of a princess belonging to that house.

Ostrorog, whom we have frequently mentioned

as one of the most prominent leaders of the Pro

testant party, proposed to the senate of Poland,

that as it was a very important consideration for

the welfare of the country that the monarch

should not die without issue, he ought to be

requested to restore the queen to her rights, in

order to give the nation a hope for the continua

tion of the royal lineage, and to prevent the

scandal resulting from the dissensions of the royal

house.

Ostrorog s motion was approved by the senate,

and the primate Uchanski, who presided over it,

made on the following day an official report of this

proceeding to the monarch. He answered that

he was prevented from living with the queen byhis doubts about the legitimacy of a connexion

with the sister of his first wife.

Uchanski assembled the bishops, and having

communicated to them the scruples of the monarch

maintained the justice of a divorce. This was

zealously opposed by the papal legate Commen-

tloni, who, after having produced many argumentsin order to prove that the papal dispensation had

removed all legal impediments to the marriage of

Sigismund Augustus with his sister-in-law, spoke


at a great length of the misfortunes of England,which he had witnessed himself, and which he

ascribed to the divorce of Henry the Eighth, andaccused the bishops of that country, but particu

larly the archbishop (Cranmer), of having in-

duced the king to make that step.* Commendonisucceeded in persuading the bishops to adopt his

views on that question. The king having or

dered him to his presence, represented to him his

unfortunate situation, entreating him, even with

tears, to assist him in obtaining from the Pope a

divorce;but Commendoni succeeded in persuad

ing him to desist from his project, particularly by

representing to him the dangers which mightaccrue to his kingdom if the emperor, irritated bythe repudiation of his daughter, should excite andassist Muscovy, as well as the other enemies of

Poland.

We have extracted these details from Com-mendoni s life by Gratiani, which, being in

accordance with the irresolute character of Si-

gismund Augustus, seem to be not without foun-

* Commendoni visited England immediately after the

accession of queen Mary, being delegated secretly, by the

orders of the Pope, to examine into the state of affairs in this

country and to promote the interests of Rome. It is

needless to add, that by the misfortunes of England ha

meant the spread and establishment of Protestantism.

414 SKETCH OF THE

dation. Yet, in spite of that irresolute character,

we can scarcely doubt that if Sigismund s life

had been spared for some years longer, he would

have finally established the doctrines of the Reformation as the religion of the country. His

own mind was evidently unsettled respecting the

principal dogmas held by the different Protestant

churches, but it seems that those of the Helvetian church, followed by the greatest part of

the influential nobility, would have prevailed.

The king s great object appears to have been to

effect the Reformation of the Polish church

through its own instrumentality, by which manydangers, troubles, and collisions would have been

avoided, and a national ecclesiastical establish

ment similar to that of England established,instead of the Romanist one. This plan, stronglyadvocated by John Laski, was supported bymany eminent persons in the country, and Si-

gismund Augustus strenuously promoted it bynominating to episcopal dignities persons knownfor their bias to the doctrines of the Reformation.

Such were, for instance, Drohojowski, bishop of

Vladislav, Krasinski, bishop of Cracow, and

Uchanski, archbishop of Gnezno and primateof the realm. We repeat, therefore, our convic

tion, that had the life of Sigismund Augustusbeen spared for a longer time, the reformation

of the Polish church would have been effected


without any commotion, as all the bishoprics, orat least a great majority of them, would havebeen intrusted to Protestants.

END OF VOL. I.

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